Cross-industry group tackles household packaging waste recycling challenge

The challenge of increasing national rates of recycling for household packaging waste is being met by a new cross-industry group representing retailers, packer/fillers, waste companies, local government organisations and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The steering committee of the Cross-Industry Packaging Waste Group (CIPWG) is chaired by head of corporate policy, sustainability and ethics at Asda Julian Walker-Palin. "When we first met, we agreed to focus on household collections, which are important to all of us," he says. "It's about agreeing what the barriers are and looking at ways forward."

Steering committee members include the Packaging Federation. Chief executive Dick Searle explains: "Local authorities are judged on their diversion of biodegradables from landfill. Increasingly, they are under pressure to increase recycling rates, but they derive no benefit from this." So, if volumes and quality of household collections are to increase, he asks, who should pay for it?

Walker-Palin adds: "Some key materials aren't being picked up at all, and if we are going to specify packaging to include more recycled content, these questions need to be addressed." He cites mixed plastics as an example of materials where more support and planning would be required.

Working group meetings are underway for the first time. These are examining four areas: packaging design (chaired by Tesco), local authority collection (chaired by the Local Government Association), funding (chaired by Unilever) and communication (chaired by Marks & Spencer).

One key challenge is the variation between different UK local authorities, both in terms of strategies and results. This diversity has been encouraged by DEFRA, which maintains that local conditions will determine what a given authority collects and how. But many are now stressing the need for greater consistency.

Searle points out that any new funding arrangements will have to take into account the fact that some authorities are already recycling more efficiently than others. The increasing prevalence of long-term private finance initiative (PFI) contracts in waste management is an additional challenge, according to Searle.

Walker-Palin emphasises that the membership of working groups is still open. Any company or body wishing to take part should contact him at: [mailto: julian.walker-palin@asda.co.uk]