All manufacturers have a critical role to play in driving positive change and the growing sense of urgency was highlighted at the recent AMRC Summit on Net Zero Manufacturing where delegates from across industry explored the untapped potential within UK manufacturing that could and should be harnessed to drive the low carbon transition.
Within our own sector there remains much that the Government can do to ensure that the environmental benefits of timber pallets and packaging are fully realised as part of a wider commitment to the principles of the circular economy.
TIMCON, together with other wood product associations, have been campaigning for a Government-led reuse initiative to maximise the reuse of wooden pallets and packaging across supply chains.
A collaborative proposal drafted by a range of timber organisations has now been submitted to Defra to introduce a workable reuse framework as part of a Proposed Reuse Incentive Scheme document and ongoing conversations between all parties have been reportedly extremely positive to date.
The proposed reuse framework incudes information on how reuse should be incentivised, measured and recorded; how supply chain users can recognise a reusable pallet, how to ensure pallets are recycled at the end of their useful life, where obligations for reuse lie and several other recommendations.
TIMCON President John Dye said that with governmental green targets under pressure, supporting a reuse initiative would support the Government’s plans to reduce greenhouse gases by 100% by 2050.
He said: “Wood packaging material manufacturing and repair businesses are inherently founded on principles of circularity. Encouraging these businesses will in turn boost demand for tree planting, provide a solid foundation for our circular economy and make a sizeable contribution to achieving the Government’s 2050 targets.”
The Wood Recyclers’ Association has also responded to the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on the government’s support for biomass, which states that the government needs to do more to demonstrate compliance with sustainability requirements when developing its support for large scale biomass.
The association has called for government departments to work together to ensure that regional waste wood biomass plants, which use locally generated waste wood – such as that used at Nicklin – are receiving the support they need to remain operational as part of a wider biomass strategy.
With the successful recent lobbying campaign by various timber organisations around the EU’s proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) alongside the various campaigns around reuse and biomass, it is clear that a strong collaborative approach is going to be the key to the industry’s long term success and its ability to deliver the sustainable outcomes that we all aspire to.
