Cullen Announces New Packaging Waste Measures

28/02/2003

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Cullen Announces New Packaging Waste Measures

“Landfill disposal of commercial packaging waste is no longer an option, it must be recycled”, said Minister Martin Cullen today (24 February 2003) when he announced the signing of new Packaging Regulations which are due to come into effect on 1 March next.

“Producers place over 750,000 tonnes of packaging on the market in Ireland every year and, in accordance with the principle of producer responsibility, they have a duty of care to ensure that as much as possible of the packaging waste arising on their own premises is recycled”, Minister Cullen stated. “The new Regulations are designed to ensure that any commercial packaging waste that can be recycled, is recycled”, the Minister added.

The new regulations – entitled the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003 – incorporate some significant new measures and strengthen existing obligations in relation to the recycling of packaging waste.

“With the assistance of Repak, Ireland achieved its 25% packaging waste recovery target for 2001, as set in the 1994 EU Packaging Directive. We must now redouble our efforts to achieve the 50% recovery target required to be achieved by the end of 2005. The new Regulations are intended to facilitate the achievement of this target”, Minister Cullen said.

The main feature of the new Regulations is the introduction of a requirement on all businesses who participate in placing packaging on the market - i.e. manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers – to segregate specified packaging waste materials arising on their premises and to have it collected by authorised waste operators for recycling. The specified packaging materials that must now be recycled are glass, paper, fibreboard, steel, aluminium, plastic sheeting and wood. “Packaging is a very significant waste stream and the vast majority of it is readily recyclable. The new Regulations are intended to change the dynamics of packaging waste recovery in the commercial sector. However, I would also urge all households to adopt a more environmentally responsible approach and to recycle as much of their packaging waste as possible”, the Minister said.

Packaging waste recycling has increased almost five-fold since 1995, with over 300,000 tonnes recycled in 2002. “We have made significant strides in the recycling of packaging waste in recent years but much more needs to be done. The Regulations are expected to lead to an increase in the recycling of commercial packaging.

“On recycling, we are moving in the right direction. I am confident that this Regulation, in tandem with the roll-out of waste recycling services under the regional waste management plans, will lead to an increase in packaging waste recycling in the years ahead and meet the challenging 2005 EU Directive targets”, Minister Cullen concluded.

1. EU Packaging Directive and 1997 Packaging Regulations
Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste requires Ireland to achieve a 25% recovery rate of packaging waste by 2001, increasing to 50% by end 2005. “Recovery” means energy recovery or recycling. In the absence of energy recovery capacity, Ireland is significantly disadvantaged in terms of meeting the specified recovery targets compared to other Member States and is primarily dependent on recycling to achieve the targets.

The Directive is based on the polluter pays principle. Producer responsibility is a fundamental element of this principle, whereby producers (manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers), as the effective generators of waste, are required to take responsibility and contribute towards the waste management costs at end-of-life of products which they have placed on the market.

Under the 1997 Packaging Regulations - introduced for the purpose of transposing and implementing the 1994 EU Packaging Directive - “major producers” (i.e. producers who place more than 25 tonnes of packaging on the market and have an annual turnover in excess of €1.27m) are required to take steps individually to collect packaging waste for recycling (i.e. to take-back and collect packaging waste from customers), or alternatively to join a producer responsibility scheme approved by the Minister. Repak, established by Irish Industry in 1997 as a voluntary industry-led producer responsibility initiative to meet Ireland's EU packaging waste recovery targets, is the only such approved scheme.

In accordance with the polluter pays principle, producers affiliated to the Repak scheme pay membership fees based on the packaging type and volume placed on the market - directly incentivising the minimisation and reuse of packaging by members. The fees collected are used to subsidise the collection and recycling of packaging waste by waste operators - almost €20m funding has been provided in the last two years alone which has provided significant stimulus and support to the recycling sector. Repak has reported that it funded the recycling of 237,000 tonnes of packaging waste in 2001, thereby enabling Ireland to meet the initial 2001 25% recovery target. While final figures for 2002 are not yet available, the indications are that in excess of 300,000 tonnes of packaging waste was collected for recycling last year.

Packaging waste represents almost 40% of municipal (household and commercial) waste and includes, for example, glass bottles and jars, cans, cardboard containers and boxes, various types of plastic containers, plastic sheeting and pallets.

2. Main features of new Packaging Regulations The main features of the new Regulations can be summarised as follows -
(a) Requirement that all manufacturing and retail businesses that place packaging on the market must segregate specified packaging waste materials arising on their premises (i.e. glass, paper, fibreboard, aluminium, steel, textiles, wood and plastic sheeting) and have it collected by authorised waste operators for recycling.
(b) Packaging sold “and consumed” on a producers premises now comes within the scope of the Regulations i.e. bottles sold and consumed in pubs, clubs and hotels. These sectors are now subject to the requirements of the Regulations.
(c) Segregated take-back facilities for the deposit of packaging waste by customers may now be provided individually or collectively by major producers not affiliated to the Repak scheme (subject to a limitation on the numbers participating in a group scheme and the distance of the segregated group take-back facilities from participating premises).
(d) Increased registration fees payable to local authorities by major producers not affiliated to the Repak scheme. The new annual fees are €500-€5,000 depending on the volume of packaging placed on the market. The previous fees were €254-€1,270. These increased registration fees should assist in meeting local authority enforcement costs.
(e) For the purposes of enhanced visibility and awareness, requirement that specified signs be displayed at all entrances to a major producers premises indicating - (i) in the case of non-Repak members (self-compliers), the arrangements for the deposit of packaging waste by customers at the premises in question, or (ii) in the case of Repak members, the exemption of such major producers from having to take-back packaging waste from customers.

3. Range of measures to increase packaging waste recovery
The new Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations are one of a package of measures being implemented to facilitate the achievement of our end 2005 50% packaging waste recovery target -

• Progressive roll-out by local authorities of segregated household collection of recyclable packaging waste (over 300,000 households in Dublin and areas of Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary and Waterford are already served by segregated collection).
• Extended network of bring banks (circa 1,400 banks currently in place, increase from 425 in 1995). Target density in regional waste management plans is one facility per 1,000 population.
• Increased network of civic amenity sites (over 40 currently in operation, increase from 28 in 1995).
• Waste Infrastructure Capital Grants Scheme (announced in March 2002) which is providing funding in the period to 2006 (under the National Development Plan 2000-2006) in support of additional waste recovery infrastructure.
• New Packaging Regulations requiring producers to segregate specified packaging waste arising on commercial premises for recycling, ensuring that such materials can no longer be disposed.