UK packaging recycling easily surpasses 2009 targets
It seems that government measures to increase producer responsibility are working, as the full-year figures published by the Environment Agency (EA) last week demonstrate that all targets for packaging recycling in 2009 were met and even exceeded in some cases.
There was a worry at the beginning of the last financial year that packaging producers would be unable to meet their obligations, but the data published by the EA reveals a strong performance from the waste disposal and recycling sector.
Figures
The EA report showed that producers managed to reprocess or export 7.1 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2009, which compares very favourably to the 6.8 million tonnes they were obligated to deliver.
All materials met or exceeded the targets set, with some performing better than others. For example:
• Paper – A consistently good performer, 3,151,745 tonnes of paper packaging waste was recycled last year, exceeding the 2,515,844 tonne target.
• Steel – Steel recycling improved significantly in the final quarter of the year, bringing the total tonnage reprocessed to 390,906 (target: 363,654 tonnes)
• Glass – This material was the poorest performer in 2009 compared to other types of waste, but the figures still show glass recycling as over target by 4701 tonnes.
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