As uncertainty continues, the Department of Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has advised that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, all controlled wooden packaging material (WPM), including pallets, crates, boxes, cable drums, spools and dunnage, moving between the UK and the EU will need to be compliant with the stringent requirements of International Standard for Phytosanitary Measure No. 15 (ISPM15) and may be subject to official checks either upon entry to the EU or after entry. The purpose of the regulation is to prevent or reduce the risk of spreading quarantine pests found in WPM. DEFRA, Timcon and the UK packaging industry are working with European counterparts to seek assurances that a pragmatic approach will be adopted.
Guidance to importing and exporting plants and plant products
‘No Deal’ EU Exit Statement for WPM
‘No Deal’ EU Exit Statement for wooden pallets and packaging
Pallet compliance with ISPM15 regulations is achieved through heat treatment in a kiln, by an accredited supplier. The concerning issue is the total available UK kiln capacity, which is deemed to fall well short of the calculated requirement to produce sufficient quantities of compliant pallets in a commercially acceptable timescale.
Scott Pallets https://www.scottgroupltd.com/ and HLC (Part of the Scott Group) https://www.hlc.co.uk/ have invested significantly to develop a national network of kilning facilities, which are predominantly run on sustainable biofuels. Together they have the largest combined accredited kiln capacity in the UK.
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