EXCESSIVE PACKAGING OF GOODS

That this House congratulates the Minister of State, Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for his condemnation of manufacturers, producers and retailers for the excessive amount of packaging used for goods sold in shops; notes with dismay that there has been a 12 per cent. increase in packaging since 1999 and that wasteful packaging now represents a third of an average household's weekly waste disposal; believes that the voluntary agreement by major grocery retailers and food manufacturers to reduce packaging is ineffective; and calls on the Government to introduce new legislation to ensure compliance with the targets set by the Government's Waste and Resources Action programme.