THE British Plastics Federation has hit out at Defra’s preferred option to reduce the amount of plastic packaging going to landfill.
The federation confirmed it is “deeply concerned” at the option identified in Defra’s consultation on recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste for 2013-2017.
It argued that while it supports any policies that would result in greater diversion from landfill and bring increased resource efficiency, the significantly increased recycling targets will be achievable only if the entire recycling supply is properly synchronised to an adequate strategy and route map.
The industry is worried that the Government’s preferred proposal for plastics packaging by 2017 adds a further burden to an already struggling sector. “The direct cost to plastics packaging producers and handlers would be an extra £70m over five years which is in effect a direct and unfair tax on the packaging sector to support an unachievable target. The Government uses excessive growth figures for plastics packaging which have been widely ridiculed within the industry,”claimed BPF.
Bruce Margetts, who chairs the federation’s Packaging Group, said: “As plastics packaging producers we want to retain the maximum value in the packaging after it has done its primary job but this target is unrealistic in its timescale and rate of increase. It appears to be a straightforward tax on producers rather than a realistic road-map for infrastructure and quality improvement. Production and filling of packaging could be lost from the UK.”
