Packaging waste improvement needed

The UK needs to work harder if packaging waste targets are to be successfully achieved in 2008, Lord Bach has warned. The responsibility for improving performance lies with consumers, local authorities and industry, in opting to support the most sustainable choices, he said.

"The efforts everyone has made in terms of recycling packaging waste have already resulted in considerable progress, and thanks to this we are now recycling almost 50 per cent of our packaging waste - double that in 1997. But there needs to be a greater focus on minimisation - and that focus must start today. Packaging waste has increased by over a million tonnes in the last seven years and this cannot continue," he said

Lord Bach’s comments came at a Defra-organised conference earlier this week that highlighted new regulations on the issue, which set new targets for recovery and recycling of packaging.

"These new regulations will certainly present some challenges, but by working together - from Government right down through business and on to consumers - I am confident we can meet them," he concluded.