Valpak has welcomed the government’s proposal in its consultation on extended producer responsibility (EPR) that compliance schemes could play a part in being scheme administrators.
Launched on 24 March, the consultation aims to make producers meet the full net costs of recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
Valpak says the consultation on EPR will impact the entire supply chain
Two options have been put forward on how the system will be monitored. The first would involve a single administrator or management organisation, while the second would be run by multiple compliance schemes, each with specialist responsibilities.
Steve Gough, CEO of Valpak, welcomed the opening of the consultation, suggesting the policy that resulted from it would represent the “most significant” change to the way packaging waste is dealt with since the advent of the Packaging Waste Regulations in 1997.
He said: “We are pleased to see that government is consulting on both a single scheme and competitive approaches for both the household and household-like waste, and the business waste elements of the new regimes, giving all stakeholders a choice and opportunity to put forward their thoughts on these options.
“The options are very much in line with Valpak’s thinking from our experience of operating within the UK and from some examples we see in other territories, where we also help producers with their packaging compliance and registrations.”
Mr Gough added he hoped all stakeholders would engage with the consultation.
Administrator
In the consultation documents Defra pledged the “first phase” of the new EPR regime would be established in 2023, enabling initial payments for household packaging to local authorities from October 2023. However, this would depend on the ability of the scheme administrator to mobilise and establish the necessary systems and processes to commence roll-out.
The government will undertake an open procurement exercise from late 2021 and aims to appoint the successful scheme administrator in early 2023.
Compliance
Valpak is part of the Reconomy Group. Describing itself as the “largest environmental compliance scheme in the UK”, it works with brands such as J Sainsbury’s, ASOS, and Miele and manages compliance for more than 2,000 businesses.
In an interview with letsrecycle.com in December 2020 Mr Gough said data services would be essential for any changes to EPR (see letsrecycle.com story).
The post Valpak welcomes EPR scheme administration options appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Packaging
