Liberal Democrat bill tackles excess packaging

9.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 23rd Oct 2007

A bill to tackle excess packaging will today be presented to Parliament by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson.

Setting out the case for her Packaging (Reduction) Bill, Jo Swinson will call for:

· The establishment of a national body to promote and enforce packaging reduction

· Consumers to be given powers to leave packaging in supermarkets for disposal

· Improvements to packaging regulations to assist the work of Trading Standards officers

· Binding targets for packaging reduction in place of existing voluntary targets

Commenting, Jo Swinson said:

"Excessive and wasteful packaging makes absolutely no economic or environmental sense.

"Despite increases in recycling, domestic waste has risen by a fifth since 1997. The average family now spends £470 per year on packaging. Government attempts to tackle the packaging problem have been much too timid and much too slow.

"This bill sets out how to tackle excess packaging. This will include giving consumers the right to send their packaging back to the manufacturers, and helping Trading Standards Officers to clamp down on waste."