The Food and Drink Federation is urging the government to implement a “world-beating” producer-led extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme by the end of the next parliamentary term to drive up plastic packaging recycling.
The food and drink industry body is urging the government to ring-fence EPR fees to ensure that local authorities use the additional funding to improve the UK’s recycling infrastructure.
It’s also calling for certainty for drinks manufacturers by implementing a single, UK deposit return scheme (DRS) as soon as possible, aligning scope and labelling requirements across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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In its manifesto, the federation also recommended industry collaboration via a ‘Sustainable Food Pact’ — a structured, pre-competitive industry collaboration to restore and maintain the natural systems needed for agricultural productivity, and to transition the food system towards sourcing more sustainable commodities.
Other recommendations including more grants for manufactures to invest in decarbonisation strategies and incorporate both energy efficiency and decarbonisation into future Climate Change Agreements targets to incentivise the switch to lower or zero carbon fuels alongside energy efficiency measures.
The Food and Drink Federation chief executive Karen Betts commented: “Our industry is at the heart of everyone’s daily lives.
“With people and sites everywhere across the country, we want to unleash the industry’s potential over the coming, critical decade, investing in the future of individuals, communities, and the health of our planet.
“Our manifesto sets out an exciting vision for the next decade, and we can only achieve this in a productive and ambitious partnership with the next government.
“We want a joined-up approach to food policy across Whitehall, the Devolved Administrations, regulators, the industry and NGOs, to ensure that together we build the resilient, sustainable, innovative and growing food and drink manufacturing sector of tomorrow that the UK needs.
