Summary
Directive 94/62/EC - implemented in the UK by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulation 1997 - requires relevant companies to recover at least 50%, and recycle at least 25% of packaging waste by 2001. These targets must be met through a scheme of shared responsibility, under which companies who handle packaging must arrange for the recovery of specified quantities of packaging waste. Companies can administer the responsibilities themselves or join a compliance scheme
administered by the Environment Agency in England and Wales, and by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in Scotland.

• Directive 94/62/EC requires that, by 2001, each Member State must:
• Recover 50-65% of packaging waste
• Recycle 25-45% of packaging waste
• Recycle at least 15% by weight of each individual packaging material.

• Their annual turnover is below £2 million and
• They handle less then 50 tonnes of packaging each year.

• Take their own waste to a reprocessor
• Pay a waste management company or local authority to collect waste from non-obligated companies or households, and take it to a reprocessor
• Help to finance a reprocessor's activities
• Purchase packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) from a reprocessor or on the open market.

Packaging Waste Recovery Notes
PRNs are certificates which state that a certain quantity of a specified packaging material has been recovered or recycled, Reprocessors - such as energy-from-waste plants or paper mills - which have been accredited by the Environment Agency, are entitled to issue and sell PRNs for the waste they reprocess. In 1999, the Government made it clear that reprocessors should only issue PRNs to obligated producers or their representatives. This is to ensure that enough PRNs are available to those who need them, and should prevent the development of a secondary market in PRNs. In order to satisfy the Agency that they have met their recovery obligations, producers who use an accredited reprocessor will have to be able to produce PRNs. If a producer takes waste to a non-accredited reprocessor, other documentary evidence is required to convince the Agency that the packaging has been recovered. Several criticisms have been levelled at the PRN system including the lack of openness among reprocessors regarding the use to which the PRN revenue is put. The Government has therefore decided that the current system should be changed and details of the changes will be published in the revised edition of the Environment Agency's Guidance on Evidence of Compliance and Voluntary Accreditation of Reprocessors. A date for re-issuing this guidance has not been set by the Agency

.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 have been amended twice in order to implement changes resulting from a review of the regulations initiated in 1998.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 increased the overall recovery and material specific recycling targets in 1999 to 43% and 10% respectively and in 2000 to 45% and 13% respectively.
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1999 introduced several changes including:

• The converter obligation has been reduced from 11% to 9%
• The packer/filler obligation has been increased from 36% to 37%
• The seller obligation has been increased from 47% to 48%
• Tthe Agency's fee has been increased to £950 from 1 January 2000
• The threshold tests for compliance with the regulations were changed to over £2 million turnover and over 50 tonnes of packaging handled, to exclude smaller businesses from the regulations
• Individually registered businesses with a turnover above £5 million are required to provide a compliance plan to the relevant Agency - the £5 million threshold on this requirement is intended to ensure that smaller businesses do not face disproportionate burdens.

Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 1998
Articles 9 and 11 of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste have been implemented by the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 1998. These set out a number of essential requirements that must be adhered to by the "responsible person" when placing packaging on the market. The regulations identify the "responsible person" as one who packs or fills products into packaging, or the importer.
The essential requirements for packaging are set out in the schedule to the regulations and include requirements that "packaging shall be so manufactured that the packaging volume and weight be limited to the minimum adequate amount to maintain the necessary level of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer". Another requirement is that the "packaging shall be designed, produced and commercialized in such a way as to permit its reuse or recovery, including recycling and to minimize its impact on the environment when packaging waste or residues from packaging waste management operations are disposed of. "The regulations also set limits for" tile concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in packaging. The responsible person must keep documentation to demonstrate compliance with the regulations. A number of guidance documents have been produced to assist with compliance with these regulations.

• Businesses that "produce" packaging, have a turnover of more than £ 2 million and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging annually have an obligation to recover and recycle packaging waste.
• The producers may themselves arrange for the recovery to be carried out or they can register with a compliance scheme, which will carry out the obligations on their behalf.
• In general, compliance schemes and producers who "go it alone" will have to purchase packaging recovery notes (PRNs) to demonstrate that their recovery obligations have been met.
  
  SOURCE: "Croner's Environmental Practice A-Z", October 2000