Firms shun heavy recycled packaging
Some retailers and manufacturers are refusing to use heavier recycled materials in food packaging, in a bid to meet reduction targets agreed with the Waste & Resources Action Programme's (WRAP's) Courtauld Commitment, according to a packaging firm.
WRAP's Courtauld Commitment is a voluntary agreement where food manufacturers and retailers agree to reduce the amount of packaging used for food and beverage products. The targets pledged are based on weight, as it is WRAP's overall aim to reduce the amount of food and packaging thrown away in the UK by 155,000t by 2010.
"So in order to stick to agreed targets," claimed Mark Shayler, md of packaging design company Eco3, "we have seen a move away from the use of recycled material in packaging because, in some cases, it is heavier than non-recycled material."
The heavier the material used, therefore, the more it impedes on a firm's commitment to reduce waste as defined by the Courtauld Commitment. "Therefore a new system to evaluate packaging reductions will be welcomed," added Shayler at a Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum Seminar on 21st Century Waste, last month.
Beyond 2010 the Courtauld Commitment will move away from the weight-based targets used currently to a carbon-based proxy, revealed WRAP's director for local government services, Phillip Ward.
Asda welcomed a new carbon-based system. "We feel that we had reached a glass ceiling with the existing system, having already met our targets and reduced packaging by around 25%," said Asda's head of corporate policy for sustainability and ethics, Julian Walker-Palin.
He added that Asda had never refused to use recycled material in packaging to keep in line with agreed targets.
A universal on-pack recycling label was launched last month, in a bid to help provide customers with standardised information on whether packaging can be recycled. The scheme is to be operated by the British Retail Consortium under the name OPRL (On-pack recycling label).
Melanie Leech, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, said: "Food and drink manufacturers are committed to providing more advice to consumers on how best to recycle or recover used packaging. We welcome the launch of this new scheme and will encourage our members to use the new label."
