Glossary

A company which is accredited by the Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency or the Environment and Heritage Service and is therefore entitled to issue Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (PRNs). These are usually waste recycling companies, or companies which recover energy from waste.

The level of accuracy required by the environment agencies for data returns under the Packaging Waste Regulations.

A company's obligation under the Packaging Waste Regulations is determined by the "activity" it performs on packaging. This can be defined as a 'raw material manufacturer', a 'converter', a 'packer/filler', a 'seller' or an 'importer'. Many companies find that they fall into more than one of these categories.

The body which advises the government on issues concerning legislative developments in packaging and packaging waste.

 - C -

In simple terms, this is packaging made of more than one material where the materials cannot be readily separated - for example crisp packets.   NB. Packaging which is constructed of assembled components of different materials (for example a bottle of wine which consists of the bottle, a cork and a label), is NOT composite packaging, this is multi material packaging.

The Consumer Information Obligations have been in force since March 2000. The obligations state that companies defined as "sellers" under the Packaging Waste Regulations must provide their customers with information about packaging and how it can be recycled.

A company which manufactures packaging from raw materials. Although there may be more than one company involved in the conversion process, the company who makes the final, recognisable packaging item should pick up the Conversion obligation.
 

Household waste, which includes packaging, has a calorific value similar to coal. As such, this waste can be burned at high temperatures to create energy in the form of heat and electricity. This process is called energy from waste.

Supply of packaging materials or packaged goods from Great Britain or Northern Ireland to countries outside the UK.

Receiving packaging materials or packaged goods into Great Britain or Northern Ireland directly from countries outside the UK.

 

 

The Northern Ireland version of the Packaging Waste Regulations came into force in 1999. Their full title is The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999. The regulations are policed by Northern Ireland's Environment and Heritage Service.

 

A company which meets the thresholds laid out in the regulations. These include handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year, and having a turnover of £2 million or above.

The amount of packaging obligated companies or schemes have to recover and recycle by obtaining compliance evidence - PRNs.

The 'catch-all' category for packaging which isn't covered by the other material categories (eg glass, paper, plastic). This category includes materials such as cork, jute and ceramics. This category is called a recovery only obligation.  

This directive was passed in 1994 to ensure that all member nations had an obligation to recycle a proportion of their packaging waste. Each member state is allowed to determine their own legislation for complying with this Directive. In the UK, the government passed the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations to meet the aims of the directive.

This is the process a piece of packaging goes through from the conversion of its raw material, to the time when it is sold to an end user.

These can be issued by UK businesses which do not themselves reprocess packaging waste, but which export the material and can certify that it is going overseas to be recovered or recycled. PERNs are currently deemed acceptable evidence of compliance by the environment agencies.

This is the new packaging which a producer owns and supplies to another producer in the packaging chain, or to an end-user.

All packaging which ends up in the UK waste stream. Production residues are not packaging waste.

A PRN is issued by an accredited reprocessor, and represents packaging which has been recycled or recovered. Every PRN represents a certain tonnage of recycled material. A PERN is the export equivalent of a PRN.

 packer / filler

A company which takes empty packaging and then packs or fills it with products.

Paper packaging includes all forms of cardboard, cellulose and chipboard such as MDF. Common uses include sacks, boxes, cases, labels, bags and cores.

Includes polythene, polystryrene and polypropylene. Common packaging uses for plastic include shrink wrap, pallet wrap, containers, industrial drums, bottles, caps, packaging components, laminates. Plastic is often part of composite packaging.
Please Note: Packaging with a recycled content still carries an obligation, and should be treated exactly the same as virgin materials.

Packaging provided for retail customers at the point of purchase. Examples would include carrier bags, cartons and gift wrapping services. In all these cases the retailer picks up a packing/filling and selling obligation. If the customer is charged for the packaging it is considered a product and is not therefore classified as packaging.

Packaging designed to be the sales unit sold to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase. For example, glass jars, beer cans or cereal boxes..

The full title of the Packaging Waste Regulations. Producer Responsibility is the concept which encourages producers to take financial responsbility for their environmental impact.

Production materials which are discarded before they are converted into identifiable packaging are production residues, not packaging waste. This type of waste does not count towards your obligation under the Packaging Waste Regulations.

A company which produces raw materials which are subsequently made into packaging (for example plastic granules or steel sheets).

Includes recycling and the burning of waste for energy (EFW). This is also a generic term applied to the waste industry as a whole.

This is the amount of packaging waste that obligated companies and schemes in the UK must recover each year.

Recycling is defined in the Regulations as "the reprocessing in a production process of the waste materials for the original purpose or for other purposes". This includes composting, but excludes energy from waste (EFW).

This is the amount of packaging waste that must be recycled by obligated companies and schemes in the UK each year.

The common term for the process by which packaging waste materials are recycled and/or recovered.

 

Packaging used to combine a number of units. The packaging can be sold along with the units or can be removed before being sold to the final user

Supplying packaging materials to the end user of that packaging. Selling is not only performed by a retailer. Any business, including a wholesaler, could have a selling obligation on packaging if their customer removes any of the packaging sent to them (this is often transit packaging).   For example a shop splits up boxes of coffee and sells the individual jar.

Common packaging uses for steel include industrial drums, paint tins, food and drinks cans, bottle crowns, steel strapping, nails and staples. Steel includes tin plate.

 - T -

Packaging used to aid handling and transport of a number of sales units. The packaging is specifically designed to prevent damage during transportation. Transport packaging does not include road, rail and air containers. For example, pallet stretch wrap, metal strapping.

The Northern Ireland version of the Packaging Waste Regulations came into force in 1999. Their full title is 'The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999'. The regulations are policed by Northern Ireland's Environment and Heritage Service.

The full title of the packaging regulations is The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, and includes amendments made to the regulations since 1997. These regulations require companies with a turnover of over £2m, handling over 50 tonnes of packaging a year, to pay for recycling some of the packaging they handle.

Packaging supplied to a UK company (including companies in Northern Ireland) that is subsequently exported from the UK by that or another party.

Parameters used to determine whether a company is obligated under the Packaging Waste Regulations.

 - W -

Most wholesalers will have a selling obligation for packaging they supply to end users. Some may also have a packer/filler obligation for any packaging they add in or around goods.

wood

Wood is an obligated packaging material. The majority of wood tends to be transit packaging, such as pallets.