DoE consults on details of packaging waste regulations

Draft regulations outlining how companies will have to contribute to national targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste were finally issued for consultation by the Department of the Environment (DoE) in July.¹ The proposals set out a timetable for companies either to join a collective recovery scheme, such as Valpak, or register with the environment agencies, and also to provide data on the packaging they handle, by next spring. But many important details, such as exactly which companies in the packaging chain will have a legal obligation, remain to be settled - and the draft regulations provide at best limited sanctions for failures to meet recovery or recycling targets.