These regulations require relevant businesses to show that they have made a contribution towards meeting national targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.

Each year Uniq is required to submit to the Environment Agency details of the total tonnage of packaging used during the year under six different categories: plastic, paper and board, steel, aluminium, glass and wood. It must also demonstrate that it has met the UK targets for recovering and recycling the packaging it has handled in each of these categories.

To help discharge its obligations, Uniq is one of 22 founder members of Valpak, a national compliance scheme that collates tonnage data for all its members and obtains certificates of compliance to ensure that these recovery/recycling obligations have been met.

Similar compliance schemes are operating in mainland Europe.