Lords hear calls for EC to adopt French packaging waste system

Packaging producers and local and central government all want the proposed EC Directive on packaging waste to be changed to establish a regime similar to the French system with its 75% target for "valorisation" of packaging waste, the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities heard in May. But there is little consensus on what mix of economic instruments and regulation should be used in the UK to promote waste reduction and recycling. Meanwhile, the Government is expected to announce proposals to help recycling businesses hit by cheap imports and declining export markets created by Germany's radical packaging rules.