"It seems to be that when the government finds an industry that is susceptible to it, it keeps prodding it with a sharp stick," said Martin Oldman, acting director general of the Paper Federation.

He added that recent visits to paper mills up and down the UK showed there was growing disenchantment with the government.

"As an industry we have been hit on all sides from gas prices to the introduction of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)," he said.

The indications, he claimed, are that the next time the paper industry is hit with a piece of legislation it will come back with a "no".

Industry representatives have highlighted that recent environmental legislation, such as IPPC, has been introduced into the UK six years before its introduction in Europe.

The paper industry is also calling for greater transparency and increased efficiency in the handling of the data for packaging waste.

This follows the issuing of the new recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste in 2002 (PrintWeek, 28 March).

The targets call for 55% of paper/board to be recycled, and the industry feels the government has failed to take into account the economic situation of 2001.

Story by Andy Scott