The Wood Recyclers Association (WRA) and the Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF) have written a joint letter to Defra, asking for an “explanation” as to why the waste wood packaging recycling targets have been reduced to 35%.
This follows an announcement by the department earlier this week (9 November) confirming packaging targets for 2021 and 2022, which saw wood targets falling from 48% in 2020 to 35% (see letsrecycle.com story).
DEFRA has reduced the waste wood packaging recycling targets to 35%
The fall for wood packaging is thought to reflect the demand for a large amount of material being used by the biomass sector and potential errors in past years when the targets were higher than those in EU nations.
However the joint letter, sent yesterday (12 November), warns that a lowering of the targets will lead to a “ reversal of the waste hierarchy” as more waste wood packaging material “which should be segregated and recycled, will end up in the mixed waste wood stream and will therefore be lost to Chapter IV compliant biomass.”
Meetings
Andy Hill, chair of the WRA
Andy Hill, chair of the WRA, responded publicly after the targets were announced saying the trade body was disappointed that after months of speaking to Defra providing evidence as to why the sector felt the targets should not be reduced, the opposite had happened.
Now the WRA and WPIF have “joined forces” and written to Defra, asking for an explanation.
The letter reads: “We have had a number of discussions/meetings with you as well as being heavily involved in WRAP/Valpak projects collating information on this and the other waste packaging materials, and thought that the overwhelming evidence was that for waste wood packaging the current targets were easily being met, even with the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were therefore incredibly disappointed and somewhat surprised to see the announcement of the reduction yesterday as this was not in line with the discussions we held.”
PRN prices
The WRA and WPIF say they are “seriously concerned” about the impact on the recycling of wood and the wider message that the reduced targets give to the recycling sector and in particular to the waste wood industry.
“The lowering of the targets to such a large extent will lead to a reversal of the waste hierarchy”
– Andy Hill, WRA chair
Mr Hill said in a statement that the targets could also lead to wood reprocessors “coming out of the PRN system”.
“The lowering of the targets to such a large extent will lead to a reversal of the waste hierarchy in our opinion. The reduction in the targets will lead to a fall in PRN prices, which have been perfectly balanced and achieved what they are meant to achieve for the past 12 months,” he said.
Mr Hill added: “If PRN prices fall there is a real danger that wood processors will come out of the PRN system and valuable waste wood packaging material which should be segregated and then recycled, will end up in the mixed waste wood stream and will therefore be lost to Chapter IV compliant biomass. Not only is this against the waste hierarchy, but it risks severe price spikes as we have previously witnessed, which will need to be corrected by yet again establishing a realistic wood target”.
‘Collateral damage’
The new targets have shocked the wood recycling sector, with some saying that it has become “collateral damage” of the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (see letsrecycle.com story).
A fall in PRN value would impact wood recyclers which benefit from this, including those in the panelboard sector which make new products from waste wood.
Alistair Kerr, director general of WPIF, said: “We are both surprised and disappointed with this decision. The 2020 target was having a positive effect on recycling volumes, so to see the target level dramatically cut like this can only be to the detriment of recycling.”
Mechanism
This isn’t the first time the two organisations have joined forces this way.
Last year, they wrote a joint letter to John Dye, the wood sector’s representative on the government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging, raising concerns over the proposals for a mechanism, stating that it would risk a “collapse” of the market (see letsrecycle.com story).
The post Wood sector asks Defra for target ‘explanation’ appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
