Minister Benn says councils must support packaging industry

Benn was responding to comments made in an open letter from the Local Government Association (LGA) last week that claimed supermarkets are forcing consumers to pay higher prices for food because they are “reluctant to curb excessive packaging”.

Benn’s letter to the LGA came after the industry gave an indignant response to the LGA’s letter, warning that the statement was damaging to the association’s relationship with the industry and that local authority waste collections should be standardised if recycling rates are to improve.

In his response, Benn encouraged retailers to make information available about the work they have done in reducing the amount of packaging they use under the Courtauld Commitment.

He also called on retailers to work with local authorities to explore opportunities to maximise their packaging and recycling.

“The objectives of the Packaging Strategy – limiting packaging to what is needed to protect the product and recycling more of what gets used – were chosen with the consumer in mind,” he said.

“To turn them into a reality, local authorities should work with the businesses which use packaging to identify the obstacles to further progress and come up with a shared solution.”

HILARY BENN’S RESPONSE IN FULL

Dear Margaret,

Thank you for your letter of 9 July.

Like you, I recognise the importance consumers attach to the issue of packaging. This was one of the main reasons why the Government published a new Packaging Strategy, Making the Most of Packaging, on 9 June.

The Strategy sets out the measures the Government will take to ensure that in the future no more packaging is used than is necessary to protect the product, and that this packaging is recyclable.

As I said when I launched the Strategy, there have been significant improvements over the years in designing packaging so that it uses resources more efficiently. We support the Courtauld Commitment, which covers about 92% of the grocery market in the UK, and has delivered its first target of halting the growth in grocery packaging by 2008. But I know that we need to do more – hence the comprehensive measures set out in our Strategy.

Your main point was that retailers should be more open about their contribution to the achievement of the Courtauld Commitment’s packaging reduction targets for the grocery sector. As you say, some retailers have already made that information available and we would certainly strongly encourage others to follow suit so that consumers can assess for themselves the progress being made.

The objectives of the Packaging Strategy – limiting packaging to what is needed to protect the product and recycling more of what gets used – were chosen with the consumer in mind. To turn them into reality, local authorities should work with the businesses which use packaging to identify the obstacles to further progress and come up with shared solutions. This process had been started under the aegis of the Packaging Recycling Action Group. It needs to be continued to meet the objectives which we all share.

Yours sincerely,

Hilary Benn MP

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