Nine new members have formally signed up to the BBPA-operated SUSTAIN waste packaging compliance scheme, marking a great start to 2015. The new members include Britain’s biggest brewer, Molson Coors, and, for the first time, two leading pub companies. Membership is set to rise further, says the BBPA, as all brewers count the benefits of the scheme.
Joining the SUSTAIN scheme will reduce the cost for BBPA members of buying Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs), as well as providing comprehensive support and industry-specific expertise. Under the new scheme launched in September 2014, brewers can achieve major cost savings.
The nine new members are Molson Coors, Frederic Robinson, Harvey & Son, Joseph Holt, St Austell, JW Lees, Spirit, Enterprise Inns, and Daniel Thwaites. These join Charles Wells, Hook Norton, Black Sheep, Fuller’s and Shepherd Neame, which were the first five members of the scheme.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive and a director of SUSTAIN, comments: “This is a great start to 2015, and shows that the SUSTAIN partnership is making the business case to BBPA members as well as delivering for the environment, by reducing waste. We look forward to recruiting further new members.”
You can watch the promotional film about SUSTAIN here: http://sustainpartnership.co.uk/
Packaging waste is becoming an increasingly important issue for brewers and pub companies. The legislative framework is set out in the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) – ‘The Packaging Directive‘ and is implemented in UK through Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (as amended) and the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations (as amended).
The EU sets recycling targets for Member States, which have freedom to determine how they are met, with penalties for Member States for non-compliance. To meet its targets, the UK has opted for the ‘market-based’ system of PRNs, which began operating in 1997. The framework covers companies with a turnover in excess of £2 million and handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging, per year. Companies are obliged to buy PRNs to cover their packaging obligation. PRNs are generated for each tonne of material that is recycled.
The BBPA has been engaged with the development of PRNs since their inception. In 2012, the association urged the Government to review targets for business, and a change was made in the legislation, worth around £15 million per year to the beer and pub sector. Prices had risen dramatically since 2011 but have now started to fall. SUSTAIN is owned by BBPA Environmental, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBPA. There are four directors; three BBPA staff and Ian Dixon, an industry expert.