The National Packaging Waste Database is an online system which tracks how much packaging has been put into the UK market and how much packaging waste has been recovered or recycled. It provides an easy way for industries to prove they’re meeting legal requirements. This helps Defra prove that the UK is meeting our overall EU obligations.
NPWD replaced a completely paper-based system of regulation that had been open to fraud and did not provide the right information at the right time.
This £2m project was funded by the Environment Agency, Defra, Scottish Executive, Northern Ireland EA and industry. The system is now managed by the Environment Agency on behalf of all stakeholders.
Ben Bradshaw MP, the Minister in charge of packaging regulations at the time, spoke to the parliamentary committee overseeing the regulation and said:
“…an unusual piece of Government IT in that it has been successfully delivered on time and to cost.”