At this year’s LARAC Wales Conference (8 July), Alupro will launch a commitment to support Welsh councils in meeting their Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPR) targets. The event, which takes place at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff, brings together senior representatives to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the waste and recycling sector.

With a raft of legislative change set to impact local authorities over the coming months, Alupro is offering to guide councils through the changes needed to not only take advantage of the impending opportunity, but also to achieve stretch targets set out as part of national zero waste by 2050 ambitions.

Through its national network and thriving membership base, Alupro will provide insight and expertise to ensure Welsh councils are effectively equipped to deliver upon expectations. In addition, through its latest communications initiatives, it will offer the engagement, education and behavioural change potential to deliver measurable impact.

Throughout the LARAC Wales conference, the Alupro team will be on hand to discuss its EPR commitment, as well as to share recent examples of its MetalMatters and Every Can Counts campaigns.

Tom Giddings, executive director of Alupro, said: “While businesses in Wales have been collecting and reporting packaging data since mid-2023 to support EPR roll-out, the scheme’s financial obligations are only going into effect this year. Whilst EPR represents welcome funding to support local authorities’ efforts to recycle even more packaging, it still remains unclear what the expectations will be for councils to attain 100% of the possible funding available.

“Councils have quickly adapted to new systems and processes to cover the costs of recycling infrastructure, but are facing stringent targets amid new ways of working. This, alongside the requirement to accelerate national progress towards zero waste by 2050, is putting local authorities under significant pressure.

“Our ambition is to work with councils across Wales to help them reach – and exceed – targets. Effective public engagement and communication is essential in getting everyone to participate in the coming changes with confidence, which is why we were so pleased to see those parties responsible for funding EPR prioritise it in their bids to become the Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO). In particular, their emphasis on using existing good-practice campaigns, with demonstrable returns on investment, is welcome news.

“We hope offering our full support to local authorities will prove valuable in accelerating national momentum and showing the PRO how important programmes such as MetalMatters are in delivering ‘efficient and effective’ recycling services.”

ENDS