Recycling and waste

Producer Responsibility: Voluntary Agreements

Voluntary producer responsibility agreements to increase the recycling of newspapers, direct mail and magazines

Background

The Government has put in place voluntary producer responsibility agreements to increase the recycling of newspapers and direct mail and is currently working with the magazine industry to introduce a similar agreement for magazines.

Newspapers

The Government and the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) reached a voluntary agreement in April 2000 to increase the recycled content of newsprint. The NPA agreed to the following targets for the industry:

  • 60 per cent by the end of 2001
  • 65 per cent by the end of 2003
  • 70 per cent by the end of 2006

Recycled content was 63.5 per cent by the end of 2001 and 68.6 per cent by the end of 2003. Industry estimate that the recycled content was 80.3 per cent in 2005.

Direct mail and promotions material

About 5.4 billion items of direct mail are sent out every year.

This includes:

  • Direct mail - advertising messages individually addressed
  • Door-to-door - unaddressed advertisements posted by hand
  • Inserts - advertising material in magazines and newspapers

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which represents about 900 members involved in the direct mail and promotions industry, signed an agreement with Government in July 2003 to raise recycling levels to:

  • 30 per cent by the end of 2005
  • 55 per cent by the end of 2009
  • 70 per cent by the end of 2013

In 2003 only about 13 per cent of direct mail was recycled.

The DMA has also pledged to:

  • Work with local authorities to promote kerbside collections of paper to be recycled, and to make sure the collections have the capacity to meet recycling targets;
  • Make sure its members use recycled paper for their mail-outs, and avoid using materials which might cause problems with the recycling process (e.g. glue);
  • Help cut down on waste by improving the targeting of direct mail campaigns and by publicising services such as the Mail Preference Service, which enables people to stop direct mail being sent to them.
Magazines

On 17 November 2005 Defra signed a voluntary agreement with the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), which represents 90 per cent (by turnover) of all magazine publishers in the UK, to raise recycling levels of post-consumer magazines to:

  • 50 per cent by 2007
  • 60 per cent by 2010
  • 70 per cent by 2013

Currently about 40 per cent of post consumer magazines are recycled.

In addition to the recycling targets, the PPA have also agreed to:

  • Work with Local Authorities to promote householder participation in magazine recycling.
  • Display the WRAP “Recycle Now” logo in 95 per cent of publications in the PPA membership by volume by the end of 2006.
  • Promote the use of materials that do not pollute the recycling process.
  • Participate in a study to investigate the practicalities of increasing the use of recycled content in magazines.
  • To produce an annual report that will include among other things:
    • A progress report for that year
    • Planned activity for the following year
    • Long-term developments and opportunion
Further information
Contacting Defra

If you would like further information not covered by these pages, you can contact us as follows:

Producer Responsibility Unit
Waste Management Division
Defra
Area D Floor 6
Ergon House
Horseferry Road
London SW1P 2AL

Tel: 020 7238 4343
Fax: 020 7082 8764
Email: waste.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

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Page last modified: 27 July 2007
Page published: 5 February 2003

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs