ASC Direct - The on-line packaging company

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environmental policy

asc environmental policy

At ASC, we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and throughout our operations, we are committed to making sure all environmental issues have been considered.

Where possible we endeavour to use materials that are fully recyclable, all our manufactured waste is disposed of responsibly, and making sure the recyclable loop is maintained.

We strive to develop new ways of producing our boxes that result in minimum waste for both our processes and our customers.

ASC is committed to act responsibly in the use of natural resources through efficiencies in our manufacturing processes and we proactively work with our customers ensuring that they are kept up to date with environmental laws and restriction.

UK packaging legislation

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005

The main objectives of the regulations are;

•Minimise packaging use and generation of packaging waste
•Encourage reuse of packaging
•Increase recovery and recycling of packaging waste

The regulations are the statutory framework by which the UK must meet the minimum recovery and recycling targets set out in the EU directive. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the government department that oversees the obligations and The Environment Agency enforces the obligations in England and Wales. The regulations place an obligation on companies that have a turnover above a specified minimum and handle more than a certain amount of packaging to undertake or arrange for some recovery and recycling of packaging waste. The more packaging your company handles, the greater the obligation to recycle and recover.

The Regulations

Apply to companies that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year and have a turnover of more than £2m. Businesses that fall below these thresholds have no producer responsibility obligations.

Requires companies that meet these conditions to take responsibility for the recovery, reuse and recycling of their obligation for packaging waste.

Calculation of the obligation quantity is a function of:
•The amount of obligated packaging handled
•The activity obligation (raw material manufacturer 6%; converter 11%; packer/filler 36%; seller/final retailer 47%)
•UK recovery/recycling targets

The Obligations

Registration Obligations
Producers must register with their environmental regulator before 7th April each year, pay a fee and provide information regarding the amount of packaging handled in the previous year. Recovery and Recycling Obligations Producers must take the appropriate steps to achieve the specified targets for recovery and recycling of packaging waste.

Certification Obligations
At the end of the year, companies are required to demonstrate that they have paid for the recovery and recycling of the required amount of packaging. This is achieved through the Packaging Waste Recovery Note (PRN) system.