for the period of 2013 to 2017, new packaging recycling targets have been sanctioned by the house of commons and will become a law in the month of january. mps yesterday backed the targets subsequent a debate in second delegated legislation committee, which examined the draft producer responsibility obligations amendment packaging waste regulations 2012. as a result, the target for plastic recycling will escalate from 32 percent 2012 to 57 percent by 2017. for glass recycling, there will be a split target. as per this split target, 63 percent must come from remelt in 2013 and by 2017, the number should be 64 percent, with an overall target of 81 percent. aluminium rises to 55 percent in 2017 from 40 percent in 2012, while steel increases from 71 percent this year to the target of 76 percent by 2017. wood remains at 22 per cent and papercard at 69.5 percent. the packaging rules are aimed to meet and exceed minimum 60 percent recovery target that is set by the packaging waste directive 2009 and european union packaging. the uk achieved a 67.3 percent recycling and recovery rate n 2010. according to the new regulations, by 2017, this must reach 72.7 percent. in the debate that held in front of the committee, richard benyon, environment minister said that they estimate entire package of targets will fetch a net profit of £181 million to the uk economy over the period of 2013 to 2017. out of which, over 95 percent of the anticipated benefits will come from revenue that is produced from recycled materials. he further mentioned that they have not decided to go beyond the eu minimum lightly, and they have done so only because their costbenefit analysis which demonstrates that higher targets will deliver significant and clear net environmental and financial benefits to the uk. mr. benyon said that, in the last december, his department carried out a public consultation which sought opinions on an array of options including adhering to the eu minimum through to the high targets before the house. mr. benyon mentioned that the majority of consulted respondents supported going forward than the eu minimum. when the point came to decide the level to set the targets, they took into account the infrastructure available for collecting, the current recycling rate, categorizing and reprocessing the waste packaging and any expansion in this infrastructure and available scrutiny of the benefits and costs of recycling. he also talked about doubts upraised by conservative mp for rugby and labour shadow waste minister gavin shuker about the perceived lack of discussion with plastics industry trade bodies especially over their doubts that targets for plastics were unfeasible. the minister further said that, few within the plastics industry remain worried about the feasibility of the plastics targets. doubts were also upraised about how the department had affianced with the industry during changes of these targets. he assured the house that his department had gone to extensive length for engaging all those with an interest in the intended rules, including the plastics industry. he also mentioned that the government has managed to balanced the opinions of all interested parties the minister explained that a major chunk of respondents, who uttered a preference, supported an increment in the target for plastic. this included organizations, which would be required for collecting, sorting and reprocessing the additional tonnages of plastic. those plastics producers that were opposite to the chosen option represented about 10 15 percent of the total tonnage of the plastic packaging covered the regulations. furthermore, the minister also said that he desires to see more local recycling of plastics, although identifies the significance of sending quality material to china. he further added that safety of feedstock has been cited as disappointing some reprocessors from entering into the market. one of the intentions of the higher recycling targets is to offer financial support and confidence in supply to facilitate investment in infrastructure, which will help develop markets for an extensive range of plastics. the minister said that they would like to see a progress in local reprocessing of plastics to trim down their reliance on the overseas markets. the ultimate righteous circle is that they have a domestic market to which they can send these materials. he said that they expecting china will continue importing recovered plastics to fulfill its massive demand for plastics. currently, china imports 45 percent of its recovered plastics the uk was 9 percent of recovered plastics to hong kong and china. the minister said that the way to uphold the uk&rsquos share of the plastics market is to concentrate on the quality. as china has a massive demand for quality material, japan is a huge supplier to that country. source of information httpwww.scrapex.comnewspackagingpackagingrecyclingtargetsbecomelawjanuaryfo…
