International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

appears to be happening, however, is that as targets rise, the PRN values for some
materials are becoming more volatile and it would appear, at least from the price
trends, that there has been greater anxiety surrounding targets for the metals, for
plastic and for glass than for other materials. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the
market to changes in information and data is also clear. Announcements by Defra
that the quantity of obligated packaging placed on the market was 466,000 tonnes
(5%) or so less than was previously estimated for 2006 sent PRN prices tumbling
downwards.
Figure 13-5: Evolution in PRN Values for Specific Materials
PRN Price (£/tonne material)
246
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
29/09/09
Oct-00
Jan-01
Apr-01
Jul-01
Oct-01
Jan-02
Apr-02
Jul-02
Oct-02
Jan-03
Apr-03
Jul-03
Month / Year
Oct-03
Jan-04
Apr-04
Jul-04
Oct-04
Jan-05
Apr-05
Jul-05
Oct-05
Jan-06
Apr-06
Jul-06
Oct-06
Glass
Paper
Aluminium
Steel
Plastics
Mixed - energy recovery
Wood - energy recovery
This is not an effective mechanism to support local authority investment in recycling,
not that of industry, and tends not to incentivize ongoing efforts to prevent packaging
waste, nor to design it for recyclability. It also bears no relation to the ongoing costs of
recycling activity. PRN revenues were £59 million and £57 million per annum in 2006
and 2007, respectively. A broad brush estimate of the cost of only household services
for packaging waste recycling in the UK would be of the order £200-£250 million,
suggesting that the funding within the system covers at the very most around a
quarter of the costs of household waste recycling, but most likely, a rather smaller
percentage of the costs of recycling household and non-household packaging.
13.7 Effects on Technical Change / Innovation
Generally, producer responsibility for packaging increases recycling of packaging,
though it often is one of a range of policies used to achieve this objective. The
incentive imparted to companies to minimise waste varies with the extent to which
they are made financially responsible for the system being implemented.
It can be expected that material switching will take place at the margin either to avoid
the heavier materials, or to avoid the more difficult to recycle packaging materials.