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Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Answer

Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of progress towards achieving his target of a 28 per cent. increase in the recovery and recycling of packaging materials up to the end of 2001; and if he will make a statement. [141179] Mr. Mullin: When the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 Regulations came into force, recovery was at 30 per cent. of which recycling made up around 27 per cent. By the end of 1999 we had reached 38 per cent. recovery and we expect to reach 60 per cent. in 2001 in line with the EC Directive target. We are already meeting the Directive's recycling target of 25 per cent. Businesses obligated under the packaging Regulations have been working towards the target levels of packaging waste recovery in the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste since the Regulations came into force in 1997. The Directive requires the UK to recover 50 per cent. of packaging waste by 2001. In our estimation, the UK's recovery of packaging waste will have to increase from around 38 per cent. at the end of 1999 to reach 50 per cent. in 2001, i.e. an increase of some 12 percentage points or, in tonnage terms, just over one million tonnes. We would expect further progress to be made in the course of 2000 but final figures for 2000 will not be available until mid 2001.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

357 c792-3W; 141179

Session

1999-00

Subjects

EU law Recycling Packaging Standards Waste disposal

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk