UK plastics reprocessors and exporters committed fraud worth approximately £400,000 (E580,000) last year, a government investigation into abuse of the packaging recovery notes (PRNs) system has revealed. DEFRA led an investigation into 19 reprocessors & exporters of plastics waste, which had been accredited to issue PRNs. The notes are bought by companies producing packaging waste to show they have complied with packaging regulations. The Defra report said at least 5 companies has been incorrectly issuing compliance documentation. At least one police investigation is underway. No individual reprocessor or exporter was named. Some firms have already had their accreditation suspended. The new figures show the UK failed to meet its target for plastics packaging waste reprocessing last year, falling 1.1% or 19,300 tonnes short of the 340,500 tonnes target.
