This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Fund aimed at reducing retail packaging
09/11/2004
The Executive is provide £764,000 through the Retail
Innovation Fund as an incentive for retailers to lead by
example and reduce packaging waste.
The move is part of an £8 million UK initiative,
launched in Scotland today, to be managed by WRAP - Waste
and Resources Action Programme.
An estimated 12 million tonnes of household waste is
produced annually from supermarket and fast food packaging
in the UK.
Deputy Environment Minister Lewis Macdonald said:
"The Retail Innovation Fund provides an opportunity for
Scottish companies to research and design new ways to
minimise waste in packaging and product design.
"The Executive has already pledged to invest £350
million over the next three years through the Strategic
Waste Fund to improve recycling facilities in local
authority areas. But this is only one aspect of a three
pronged approach.
"As well as promoting recycling, we aim to encourage
people to reduce the amount of waste produced and to re-use
whatever they can. The £764,000 being provided by the
Scottish Executive through this scheme will help us rise to
this challenge."
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) also supports the
initiative. Its chairman Eddie Thompson said:
"The SRC fully supports the launch of the Innovation
Fund and encourages applications from all those involved in
packaging design for the retail sector. We hope the retail
sector will take advantage of the Fund to make major
advances in the retail arena while benefiting the
environment."
WRAP promotes recycling and resource efficiency across
the UK. Its main aims are to find markets for recycled
materials and to undertake waste minimisation work.
WRAP is funded by the Executive, DEFRA, DTI and the
administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Businesses with a turnover of £2 million or more and who
use over 50 tonnes of packaging per year are required,
under packaging legislation, to recycle and or recover some
of their waste.
Packaging recovery targets are currently 50 per cent,
rising to 70 per cent from December 31, 2008.
The Executive has pledged to recycle or compost 25 per
cent of municipal waste by 2006 and 30 per cent by
2008.
Research, undertaken by WRAP, shows that more than 40
per cent of the household waste going to landfill
originates from supermarket and fast food packaging.
Full details of the fund, launched last week by DEFRA
Minister Elliot Morley, can be found at
www.wrap.org.uk/innovationfund.