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Regulations
The
United Kingdom legislation is: "The Producer Responsibility Obligations
(Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997" updated by “The Producer
Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005”. This
implements an EC Directive, the aim of which is to reduce the amount of
packaging waste going to landfill sites by setting targets for recovery
and recycling packaging waste.
The UK has set it’s
own targets for 2006 to 2010 as:
Overall recovery
2006
66%
2007
67%
2008
68%
2009
69%
2010
70%
The target
for 2006 is a 3 point increase on 2005. The minimum amount of recovery
to be achieved through recycling has been set at 92% for 2006.
Material
specific recovery
The materials
specific targets for 2006-2010 are given in
Table 1.
Table 1:
Targets
by material - 2006-2010
|
Material
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
|
Paper/Board |
66.5 |
67 |
67.5 |
68 |
68.5 |
|
Glass |
65 |
69.5 |
73.5 |
74 |
74.5 |
|
Aluminium |
29 |
31 |
32.5 |
33 |
33.5 |
|
Steel |
56 |
57.5 |
58.5 |
59 |
59.5 |
|
Plastic |
23 |
24 |
24.5 |
25 |
25.5 |
|
Wood |
19.5 |
20 |
20.5 |
21 |
21.5 |
BLUE
figures are
lower than the annual targets previously announced;
RED figures are higher than the annual targets
previously announced;
BLACK figures are new targets.
The Government Agencies responsible for
implementation and enforcement are:
-
Environment Agency (EA) – England & Wales
-
Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) -
Northern Ireland
-
Scotland Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
– Scotland
Links to the
websites of these agencies are available from our
Links
page
Who
is obligated?
Any company which handles 50 tonnes of packaging
(or more) per year and which has a UK turnover of £2 million or more.
Under the 2005 Amendments, there is a simpler process, the
Allocation Method, which can be adopted by
SME’s. For the purposes of this amendment an SME is defined as a company
with a turnover of between £2 and £5 millions, that handles a minimum of
50 tonnes of packaging per year.
The law affects
companies who:
-
Manufacture materials for packaging (Producer
activity).
-
Convert materials into packaging (Converter
activity).
-
Put goods into packaging (Packer/filler activity).
-
Sell products to a customer who removes the
packaging (Selling activity).
-
Import packaging or packed products from outside
the UK (including using second-hand packaging)
-
Lease packaging to another company
-
In addition,
special rules now apply to Franchisors/Pub operating companies.
There is no change
to the sharing of responsibility and cost for the recovery and recycling
of packaging waste by all sectors of the packaging chain. This is
determined by Activity obligation and percentage obligation for 2006 is
shown in
Table 2.
Table 2:
Activity obligation – 2006
|
Raw
material production |
6% |
|
Converting |
9% |
|
Packing/filling |
37% |
|
Selling |
48% |
What packaging is involved?
For most companies their obligation is for any packaging that they pass
on to their customer. This will include packaging around the products
supplied and any packaging added (bags, wrap etc.). Packaging that is
removed and disposed as waste within the company does not incur an
obligation. If a company is responsible for the direct importation of
product with packaging they have an obligation for this packaging.
Pub Operating
Companies
Any tenanted pub company that meets the £2 million turnover and 50 tonne
thresholds individually will continue to register separately for the
Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005.
However, under changes to the regulations, a pub company with a turnover
in excess of £2 million that runs tenanted pubs will incur the producer
obligation for their tenanted pubs that fall below the packaging
thresholds individually, provided that together those pubs meet or
exceed the threshold. The Obligation applies to:-
For example:
Pub Chain Co. has a turnover of £14 million and handles circa 100 tonnes
of packaging per year. It has 45 tenanted pubs, of which 5 meet the
turnover and packaging thresholds. These five pubs must register
independently and meet their own obligations. Pub Chain Co assumes the
packaging obligation for the remaining 40 pubs in respect of any
packaging they supply to the tenants under terms of any agreement
between the parties.
Franchisors
Any franchisee that meets the £2 million turnover and 50 tonne
thresholds individually will continue to register separately for the
producer responsibility obligations (packaging waste) regulations 2005.
The
Franchisor, providing their own turnover is £2 million or more, will
incur the producer obligation for those Franchisees that fall below the
weight threshold individually, provided that the group handles more than
50 tonnes of packaging per year.
The Obligation applies to:-
The 2005 regulations introduce a new activity of “service provision”.
This relates to businesses that lease pallets, crates and similar
packaging to other companies. Previously there has been no obligation on
leased packaging, whether you lease out packaging (the lessor) to
another company or use leased packaging (the lessee). The impact of this
has meant that although much of the packaging eventually ends up in the
UK waste stream only 15% (from production and conversion activities) of
the total obligation is being met.
To correct this, the regulations now require that the lessor will bear
the obligation for the packing/filling and selling activities on the
first
use
of leased packaging. If you lease packaging (the lessee), there is no
change and you do not incur any obligation under these regulations.
Under the amended regulations, second hand imported packaging is now
obligated, where previously it was not. Therefore any imported second
hand transit packaging (such as crates and pallets)
that remains in the UK will need to be included in your data submission.
What does a
company/business have to do
An
obligated company is required, each calendar year, to:
-
Register with the relevant Government
Agency (i.e. Environment Agency) or one of it’s officially
accredited Compliance Schemes and pay an annual fee (plus a joining fee
for some schemes).
-
Calculate the weight of packaging it handles each year, categorised by
material
-
Pay
levies to a Compliance Scheme, or purchase PRN’s (Packaging Recovery
Notes) to provide to the EA, according to its level of obligation for
each material.
The Allocation Method
The SME’s
must provide the following information to the compliance scheme:
-
Annual turnover (£) in the last financial year in
respect of which audited accounts are available before the relevant
date, rounded up to the nearest ten thousand pounds.
-
The predominant packaging material handled i.e.
paper.
The compliance
scheme will then determine the amount of packaging waste, in tonnes,
that is the SME recycling obligation using the formula
(Turnover/1,000,000) X Recycling allocation (see
table 3)
The
SME will still be required (as now) to pay the annual registration fee
any compliance scheme fees and the cost of obtaining PRNs by the
compliance scheme
Table 3:
Recycling allocations
|
Relevant Year |
Recycling Allocation |
|
2006 |
25 |
|
2007 |
26 |
|
2008 |
27 |
|
2009 |
28 |
|
2010 |
29 |
It should be noted
that SMEs who opt to use the allocation method are required to use this
method for a minimum period of three years, provided their turnover
doesn’t rise above £5 million, when they would have to register with a
compliance scheme (or direct with the Agency) using the method of full
data submission.
Companies defined as "sellers" under the packaging waste legislation
also have an obligation (Consumer Information Obligation) to pass on
recycling information to their customers.
What are the
requirements for data?
-
Data must be "as
accurate as reasonably possible".
-
Returns and back-up
data to be kept for a minimum 4 years.
-
Clear audit trail
with all relevant paperwork.
-
Evidence of correct
categorisation of packaging.
-
Clear indication of
methodology.
-
Sources of data
identified.
What
are the penalties for non-compliance?
-
Non-registration
involves three offences for each year;
-
Each offence carries a maximum fine of £5000 (for first offence), a
total of £15,000 each year. Continuing offences can incur unlimited
fines, imprisonment of directors and even closure of the company.
Think your company
may be obligated but is not registered?
If your
company is obligated but not registered you are seriously exposed to the
risk of prosecution by the Environment Agency. Non-compliance is an
offence under criminal law and prosecution carries substantial penalties
of fines (up to £15,000 for each year) plus costs, as well as legal
fees, adverse publicity and considerable senior management input.
If you think you may be obligated but are not
registered we recommend you urgently take expert advice to find the most
cost effective way of complying with these Regulations. Contact J Williams & Associates
on
01491 872837 or
e-mail for advice. |
