Packaging landfill ban needs careful consideration, says report

Defra’s Packaging Strategy, unveiled in June, suggested the government would study the possibility of a banning aluminium from landfill. The Green Alliance has researched the impact of landfill bans in five European countries and the US.

The environmental body found that in a number of cases incineration had increased as a result of a ban and said the government should “discourage the incineration of recyclable or compostable materials, to ensure they are treated as high up the waste hierarchy as possible”.

Green Alliance associate and former director Julie Hill told Packaging News that one of the things that the research had highlighted that other countries were prepared to consider a variety of methods to deal with waste, even though objectives may differ.

“It’s good to see it as a package of instruments to reduce waste that ends up in landfill, because there is not a one-size-fits-all solution,” she said.

Hill said a UK discussion over long-term objectives was needed to determine the best options. “You have got to come to a view over what exactly you want to achieve before you can decide what the appropriate instruments are,” she said.

The report includes a number of considerations for the UK government in terms of setting a landfill ban policy. It said there should be good communication, sufficient lead times, a simple compliance system, public support and adequate resources to police it.

Click here to read the full Green Alliance report.

• Last week, the Health Protection Agency said that modern, well-managed and regulated energy-from-waste facilities presented no significant health implications. “Any potential damage to the health of those living close by is likely to be very small, if detectable,” the HPA said.

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