Member Article

Tougher recycling targets welcomed by Walsall family packaging firm

BUSINESSES enter 2019 with unprecedented recycling challenges as the UK Government steps up its war on waste, a Midlands packaging supplier is warning.

From this Thursday (January 31), companies who produce, sell or use large amounts of packaging face record recycling and recovery rates for a raft of different products.

And if they fail to meet the tough new targets or provide false or misleading data, they risk fines and enforcement action, warn allpack Packaging.

Yet the Walsall-based family firm, which imports and supplies over 5,000 packaging product lines worldwide, believes the changes present more of an opportunity for forward-thinking businesses than a threat.

Companies who handle 50 tonnes of packaging materials a year, or whose annual turnover exceeds £2m, must now present evidence for demonstrating compliance for 2018 rates.

But the next 12 months will see an across-the-board increase in targets as the UK continues to go above and beyond European directives on waste.

The biggest uplift for 2019 centres on wood products, which now demands a 43% recovery and recycling rate – almost double the requirement of two years ago.

Recycling targets for glass (79%), paper and board (73%), aluminium (61%), steel (82%), and plastic (55%) also call upon companies to step up their environmental action.

The UK target for plastics is remains over two times higher than the EU directive, which has not changed since 2008.

The targets also extend to those firms that provide licences to other businesses, such as pubs and franchises, where their packaging contributes to the 50 tonnes threshold.

“These record-high targets are to be welcomed,” said Jim Clarke, founder and Chairman of allpack Packaging, based at Aldridge.

“They are accelerating at pace in response to growing concerns about the longevity of the planet, and the environmental impact that global business practices are having.

“Laws governing compliance are now being linked to public concerns to generate these ever-increasing performance targets with the aim of avoiding wastefulness.

“As a European packaging company with 25 years’ expertise in the sector, we are keen to support our customers in recycling, recovering and reusing more products and help them make a real difference.

“It’s vital to get over the message that tougher compliance requirements should not fill businesses with dread.

“It does not mean your customer experience is impaired, or that your brand’s position in the marketplace is affected – in fact, from our insight it is quite the reverse for those that seize the initiative.”

He added: “If your main activity is selling packaging goods, it’s important to keep your customers updated – from explaining what packaging symbols mean, to how they have contributed to improved recycling rates.

“And here at allpack we have a team of experts on hand to help you do just that, and guide you through the complex maze of compliance to ensure you do not fall foul of the regulations.”

The manufacturing capability and capacity at allpack’s Midlands base means that each year it can supply over 10,000 tonnes of film, 600 million sq m of tape and 100,000 kilometres of strapping – enough to go around the world two and a half times.

The firm, which has grown from small beginnings and now employs almost 50 staff, counts household names such as Dunelm, Travis Perkins, Wickes, Mazda and Volvo among its growing portfolio of blue chip clients.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by richard chew .