Packaging producers appear to have comfortably met their packaging recycling targets for 2008, despite concerns they might struggle due to the sharp fall in materials prices. The Environment Agency published data on 11 March showing levels of reprocessing and exporting in the fourth quarter of 2008 was relatively consistent with the rest of the year, meaning the UK's business targets were exceeded by over 400,000 tonnes. Of this 275,000 tonnes of packaging recycling evidence (PRNs) was carried over into 2009.
Providing the business targets were set at the correct level to correspond with the amount of packaging actually placed on the market in the UK in 2008, the figures also suggest that the UK has met the last targets currently set under the European Packaging Directive 94/62/EC - which required that 60% of packaging was recycled by 31 December 2008. The performance is likely to put the UK in a stronger position than expected for meeting business packaging recycling targets in 2009.
Despite this better than expected performance, the figures also point to some areas which could present a challenge in 2009. In particular, meeting specific targets for materials such as glass and aluminium are expected to prove difficult. In order to help 2009 run smoothly, the Environment Agency is now urging reprocessors and exporters to upload details of the amount of packaging they handle on a monthly basis onto the National Packaging Waste database, which can be found at http://npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/.
