Welsh manufacturers should reduce packaging or risk missing out on substantial cost savings - that's the message from sustainability programme Envirowise as the government introduces tougher targets on packaging recycling and recovery for UK firms.

The new targets cover all companies which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year and have an annual turnover of at least £2m. They impose an obligation on businesses to ensure that 72 per cent of their packaging is recycled or recovered by purchasing Packaging Recover Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERNs) through an accredited re-processor.

The targets are expected to rise further to 73 per cent in 2009 and 74 per cent in 2010.