An investigation has begun into the volatility experienced in the glass packaging supply chain in 2012 and what this will mean for the split recycling targets for 2013.
Valpak is undertaking the investigation, with the support of WRAP, the Advisory Committee on Packaging, Defra, the Environment Agency and British Glass.
With a 63 per cent of the glass packaging recycling target to come from re-melt, the project is trying to understand what was behind the volatility in 2012.
In particular, although compliance for glass was achieved in 2012, the surplus carry-over of PRN/PERN evidence into 2013 was reduced to 16,700 tonnes compared to 57,000 tonnes carried over at the end of 2011. This makes reaching compliance in 2013 more difficult as a result.
The main objectives of the project will be:
- To improve market transparency and information on glass packaging recovery and recycling in the UK
- To identify and evaluate possible risks to UK compliance for glass this year, and in subsequent years to 2017, and
- To develop scenarios to assess and quantify potential market supply/demand for increased glass recycling including collection, sorting, processing and reprocessing.
Valpak chief executive Steve Gough said: “We felt that this work was of sufficient importance to commit time and resource to the project. We also believe that it must engage with those key stakeholders, to whom this information is essential, in terms of planning for cost effective UK compliance, identifying any barriers to more effective glass collection and recycling and ensuring that the UK is best placed to comply with EU targets and to do so at lowest cost to industry.
“The support of those key stakeholders is essential to ensure that a full and comprehensive investigation is carried out and that it involves all those parties who have expert knowledge of the sector and a vested interest in the system working effectively.”
WRAP director of the closed loop economy Marcus Gover added: “This project will provide unbiased and authoritative analysis of the glass market to improve market transparency and information on glass recovery and recycling in the UK, it will inform debate within the industry and generate consensus about specific actions that the industry, together with WRAP and others, could potentially deliver to enable more glass packaging recovery and recycling in the UK.”
