The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) has said that the Government and other stakeholders need to do more to promote metal packaging recycling, and not just leave it to the industry.
Alupro executive director Rick Hindley gave a cautious welcome to the Waste Review, which was published on Tuesday, but said that the Government needs to go further if it is to meet its ambitions of a zero-waste society in England.
He said: “It’s great that the Waste Review commits to prioritise recycling materials like aluminium that can bring the biggest environmental benefits, but there is little actual policy to make sure this happens.
“We are delighted to see the Review’s endorsement of industry programmes such as Every Can Counts and metalmatters. However, the industry cannot continue to shoulder the burden of promoting metal recycling alone. With further support from Government and other key stakeholders, the recycling rates for these materials could be even better.”
He welcomed that the Waste Review prioritises materials that can deliver the biggest environmental benefit, but said that policy needs to make sure this happens at a local level.
“Increasing the amount of aluminium packaging recovered from households is largely dependent upon local authorities and waste companies prioritising the collection of aluminium, and no significant drivers have been proposed to address this,” he said.
“We are disappointed that the Waste Review does not include a firm commitment to introducing carbon-based recycling targets. This is being implemented in Scotland and will clearly focus local authorities’ attention on materials which bring the most significant carbon benefits.”
He also said that Alupro was pleased to see a commitment to recycling away from home as well as a review of the Producer Responsibility regulations as part of the Packaging Directive review.
