Defra to consult on targets

Defra, the government department with responsibility for the packaging regulations, has announced that it will be consulting on the 2013-17 targets later this year. This comes after the targets have been static for 2 years. It is expected that the Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) will call for an increase in targets.

End of Waste Criteria

New European regulations on when scrap metal ceases to be waste may allow metal merchants to issue Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs). This change has the potential to disrupt the PRN market for steel and aluminium. Previously only steel and aluminium reprocessors and exporters could issue PRNs, but under the new guidance scrap metal merchants producing material which meets a set criteria may also able to do so.