PN readers rally to hit back at LGA ‘excess packaging’ report

“The LGA is completely overreacting,” said British Plastics Federation director general Peter Davis. “It is in nobody’s interest to over-package goods and the minimum amount of packaging necessary is used.”

The LGA’s third ‘War on Waste’ study claimed that almost 40% of supermarket food packaging could not be ‘easily’ recycled and that supermarkets should pay more towards recycling services in order to stop council tax rises pay for landfill tax.

Thomas Chimes wrote on packagingnews.co.uk that he felt this was likely to be a diversionary tactic by the LGA in advance of council tax increases.

“Councils are going to put up their taxes and are trying to use packaging as a scapegoat,” he said. “Let’s hope that during this ‘credit crunch’ that people are brighter than to believe this and that they realise that LGA’s are a law unto themselves.”

Meanwhile, Albert Shuttleworth feared the “misleading report” would derail the work of the Packaging Recycling Action Group (PRAG).

He said: “To undermine the progress already made through the PRAG and potentially fracture that group is unforgivable and goes a long way to finally proving they have not actually listened to anything said or adjusted their position one bit.”

Phil Marlowe, however, took a different approach, suggesting that the best way to tackle the problem was to keep on innovating.

“While the media’s assault on packaging is a bitter pill to swallow, it will be hard for an industry that essentially operates ‘behind the scenes’ to publicly defend itself on packs or via other channels,” he said.

Ultimately, said Gillian Wight, packaging development director at Your Packaging Partner, the primary role of packaging was to “protect, preserve and communicate information to customers”, agreeing with Marlowe that it was essential that “the best and greenest ways of preserving its basic function” were found.

A special mention went to Incpen’s Jane Bickerstaffe, who was praised for her efforts in representing the packaging industry against the baying media. On the GMTV sofa with Ben Shepherd and later on Five News Bickerstaffe was recognised for putting up a good fight.

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