Environment Minister Lord De Mauley has visited Aylesford Newsprint in Kent where he was praised for pushing the new packaging targets through Parliament.
He joined members of the Resource Association on a tour of Aylesford’s paper mill where he also heard from its members about concerns about recyclate quality, regulation of the output of materials recycling facilities through the MRF Code of Practice and the impact of poor quality feedstock availability on UK manufacturing.
Resource Association chief executive Ray Georgeson said: “We were delighted to host Lord De Mauley on his first visit to a UK paper reprocessor and took the opportunity to congratulate the Government on the successful piloting of the new packaging recycling targets through Parliament.
“The ambition the Government has stated, especially on plastics packaging, is to be commended. Strong and ambitious targets are needed to drive the industry to another step change in the recovery and reprocessing of packaging materials.
“Delivery of a robust MRF Code of Practice, proper enforcement of TFS Regulations and reform of the PRN/PERN system to support the UK green economy is also needed and we look forward to Lord De Mauley’s interventions in these arenas as he moves from listening mode to action within his ministerial brief.”
