· 6.6% increase in tonnes recycled in 2007· 150 kilos per person of used packaging recycled in 2007
· 643,000 tonnes recycled in total a 40,000 tonne increase on last year
· 3.6 million tonnes of used packaging diverted from landfill since 1998
· Growth in Repak membership and Packaging prevention ear marked as key challenges to reaching 2011 targets
· One company shows significant financial saving of nearly €0.5 million from packaging minimisation
Delegates at the 2008 Repak Members Conference were told of a 6.6% increase in recycling rates for 2007. This equates to an increase of 40,000 tonnes.
The 643,000 tonnes of used packaging recycled in 2007 is equivalent to 150 kilos recycled per person in Ireland in 2007. This brings the total amount of used packaging diverted from landfill to in excess of €3.6 million tonnes since 1998. Over the same period Repak has invested over €145 million supporting packaging recycling, with €27 million raised in packaging levies from Repak members in 2007 alone.
“Despite increasing the amount raised from industry by over 14% in 2007” Dr. Andrew Hetherington, CEO of Repak warned “costs will increase as we dig deeper into the household recycling bin to meet higher packaging recycling targets.
He further added “the key to reaching the 2011 targets set by the EU will be growing compliance with producer responsibility and driving packaging prevention and minimisation which is the main focus of the Repak Members Conference today”.
Against this backdrop the conference also sees the introduction of a new booklet “Packaging Optimisation: Decision or Dilemma”. This booklet was compiled after an intensive study of the packaging supply chain in Ireland, commissioned by Repak and the EPA and carried out by UK consultants Perchards. The case studies in the booklet show the benefits, gains and challenges facing companies who are attempting to reduce packaging.
"We have made giant strides in improving our national performance in the recovery and recycling of waste and packaging waste has played a central role in these developments - thanks in no small part to the efforts of Repak and all its producer members" - said Mr. Michael Kitt, TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
"Our focus needs to remain on the achievement of our international targets, while simultaneously reducing packaging waste generation. I remain confident that, by continuing to work together, we can achieve these common objectives and be to the fore in packaging waste prevention and recovery across the EU", continued Minister Kitt.
Minister Kitt added that he saw the effective enforcement of the new Regulations as being a key priority. "We cannot allow those who free-ride on the system to enjoy a competitive advantage over those producers who comply with their legal obligations. I want to see the local authorities and the Office of Environmental Enforcement intensify the enforcement efforts to ensure the success of the consolidated regulations. That will require the co-operation and active support of all the stakeholders in the sector" - the Minister concluded.
The computer software manufacturer, Symantec revealed a €400,000 financial saving over 12 months from their various packaging prevention and minimisation initiatives. This was announced as they presented their exemplary case study at the conference. In total they prevented 354 tonnes of packaging being produced. This was through two main initiatives, by encouraging customers to download their product online instead of buying a hard copy and secondly, significant overhauls of their packaging design resulting in the reduction of 108 metric tonnes of packaging.
Speaking at the conference Dr. Andrew Hetherington, CEO of Repak said “The reduction and prevention of packaging will be a main focus and challenge for Repak in the future. We commissioned this report on the packaging supply chain to give us a better understanding of how and where we can have an impact on the packaging produced and we plan to use the findings of the study to further progress our work in this area.
Also speaking at the conference was Dermot Breen, CEO of Tesco. Tesco have been very progressive in their approach to reducing their overall carbon footprint and have been longstanding members of Repak and in fact were recipients of the Repak Best Practice Award last year. At the conference Mr Breen discussed the initiatives Tesco have being taking to reduce their overall carbon foot print by looking at their energy consumption, transportation usage and bio fuels, as well as pursuing packaging reduction strategies. Colm Munnelley, the recently appointed Packaging Prevention Officer for Repak also spoke on the day discussing various initiatives that Repak are undertaking to assist industry, the most recent one of these being the Packaging Prevention Course design by by Repak in conjunction with the EPA and RPS which is run by FAS and was launched in the past month.
Copies of the case studies booklet are available on request from Colm Munnelly and through the Repak Website.
The computer software manufacturer, Symantec revealed a €400,000 financial saving over 12 months from their various packaging prevention and minimisation initiatives. This was announced as they presented their exemplary case study at the conference. In total they prevented 354 tonnes of packaging being produced. This was through two main initiatives, by encouraging customers to download their product online instead of buying a hard copy and secondly, significant overhauls of their packaging design resulting in the reduction of 108 metric tonnes of packaging.
Speaking at the conference Dr. Andrew Hetherington, CEO of Repak said “The reduction and prevention of packaging will be a main focus and challenge for Repak in the future. We commissioned this report on the packaging supply chain to give us a better understanding of how and where we can have an impact on the packaging produced and we plan to use the findings of the study to further progress our work in this area.
Also speaking at the conference was Dermot Breen, CEO of Tesco. Tesco have been very progressive in their approach to reducing their overall carbon footprint and have been longstanding members of Repak and in fact were recipients of the Repak Best Practice Award last year. At the conference Mr Breen discussed the initiatives Tesco have being taking to reduce their overall carbon foot print by looking at their energy consumption, transportation usage and bio fuels, as well as pursuing packaging reduction strategies. Colm Munnelley, the recently appointed Packaging Prevention Officer for Repak also spoke on the day discussing various initiatives that Repak are undertaking to assist industry, the most recent one of these being the Packaging Prevention Course design by by Repak in conjunction with the EPA and RPS which is run by FAS and was launched in the past month.
Copies of the case studies booklet are available on request from Colm Munnelly and through the Repak Website.
Pictured with their new packaging concept at Repak's 2008 Member's conference are Symantec's Siobhan Connell and Raquel Alonzo
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