Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2008

I declare an interest as my family horticultural and agricultural business is an obligated producer under these regulations. I am also co-chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group. I hope that this gives me an insight into how these regulations will work. Although no one in business welcomes the administration and cost that they will entail, the greater purpose of resource conservation—that is, waste recovery and recycling—is well served by the system. However, the imposition of detailed record-keeping imposes a great cost on business and we should be mindful of this in how we implement these regulations. To what extent does the Minister think that the 2007 regulations have been successful in reducing the overall amount of waste? The new regulations continue the process of seeking to increase recycling rates. The business targets are higher than the target set under the EU directive to allow for the substantial number of small businesses excluded from the obligations. Do similar arrangements operate elsewhere in the EU? Will the business targets set meet the EU targets in a direct comparison? However, as the Minister said, the principal purpose of the new regulations appears to be the need to tackle the slippage which occurs through the export of metals. It is surprising that aluminium recycling is at a remarkably low level at around 30 per cent. The PERN, which forms part of the waste export industry’s vocabulary, has to compete with the very high value of metals themselves and the difficulty of getting sound evidence that the recycling meets the criteria. To the extent that the regulations recognise that difficulty and seek to find a more flexible method of providing sound evidence through the discretion available to the Environment Agency, we understand their purpose. However, we remain concerned about them. I hope that the Minister will indicate what guidelines might be followed. We cannot be relaxed about the way in which less valuable recovered products might be dumped in landfill or even at sea. The news of police raids today shows that there is cause for concern that criminal gangs may have infiltrated the genuine waste recycling industry, and local authorities are losing the battle against the theft of road signs and street furniture. If it can be lifted, it is a potential target for thieves. The Government may believe that the regulations will be used mainly for high-value metals. I understand that thinking, although I am less sure of how it can be achieved. It could extend the possibility of disreputable activity here and abroad as we export our waste responsibilities. Indeed, it could be an open invitation to cheats and rogues. I look for the Minister’s reassurance in this regard.