Environment Agency packaging monitoring plan released

The packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan for 2020 has been released by the Environment Agency, placing a key focus on accurate data submission and operational compliance.
A new corporate report by the Environment Agency lays out the monitoring activity that is to be expected for the year ahead. The plan builds on their 2019 report with the objective of ensuring accurate data is being submitted by packaging producers regarding packaging they handled in 2019. Reprocessors and exporters will also see attention paid to meeting their accreditation conditions.
Download the Packaging producer responsibility monitoring plan 2020.
Risk profiling, site inspections and desk-based compliance assessments
First and foremost, the monitoring process is intended to resolve any issues of non-compliance. Intelligence reporting will identify un-registered producers (freeriders) and risk profiling will focus on operators who have the largest impact on the environment.
The EA have put in place a target of 83 site visits to packaging producers which will be determined through the EA’s risk profiling assessments. This process considers an organisation’s scale and complexity as well as any late registrations, anomalies or errors flagged by validation and data assessments.
The aim? To bolster the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) and ensure robust data is released in any national publications, eliminating freeriders and ensuring a level playing field for all producers.

For infringements such as data errors and fraudulent behaviour, corrective actions and fines may be issued upon the EA’s validation checks of data submissions, trend analysis and subsequent identification of errors or anomalies. To navigate these potential penalties and reduce the risk of non-compliance, producers can strengthen their quality management systems, particularly those relevant to data gathering procedures, demonstrating that they take data generation more seriously.
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