ADEPT comments on National Audit Office findings
Ian Fielding, Chair, ADEPT Waste Group said: “ADEPT has long recognised the problems described by the National Audit Office. We have been advising government for a number of years that the current packaging producer responsibility system is flawed and fails to provide sufficient incentives to ensure effective and efficient recycling of packaging materials.
“Packaging is necessary to protect goods and produce, avoiding damage and wastage. Without effective obligations on producers to minimise or recycle packaging after it has been used, the pressure falls on local authorities to manage huge volumes of discarded materials, including plastics, card and metals, when they become waste.
“The current system relies on local authorities to collect as much as possible, and while they are recognised as being best placed to collect these materials from the home, responsibility should not fall on councils alone. Producers, such as the big brands and supermarkets need to be held more accountable for recycling the packaging they put into the system.
ADEPT recognises the concerns of the National Audit Office on the risks of fraud and error in reporting packaging recycling performance and supports calls to increase confidence that waste sent for recycling is actually recycled. Local authorities work very hard with the public to collect materials for recycling and improved transparency in the final destinations is essential in order to retain credibility for the sector as a whole.
“ADEPT is engaged with other local authority organisations in supporting the review into extended producer responsibility (EPR) being undertaken by DEFRA. We support the principle of EPR and want to see producers made accountable for packaging throughout its life cycle. It would drive better design and more use of easily recyclable materials.”