Key Impacts of EPR on Plastic Packaging
Cost Shift:
Producers, not taxpayers, will bear the cost of collecting, managing, and recycling packaging waste, including plastic packaging.
Incentives for Sustainable Design:
Producers will be financially incentivised to design packaging that is easier to recycle, uses less material, and is made from recyclable materials.
Recyclability Assessment:
Producers will need to assess the recyclability of their packaging. Fees could be modulated based on recyclability, incentivising businesses to move away from difficult-to-recycle materials.
Data Collection and Reporting:
Producers will be required to collect and report data on their packaging to ensure compliance with EPR regulations.
Increased Recycling Rates:
EPR aims to increase the amount of packaging waste, including plastic, that is collected, sorted, and recycled, rather than sent to landfill or incineration.
Focus on Circular Economy:
EPR aims to create a more circular economy for packaging, where greater quantities of recyclable waste are reprocessed into valuable, high-quality secondary resources.
Modulated Fees:
Fees will be modulated based on the recyclability of the packaging, with difficult-to-recycle materials attracting higher fees, encouraging producers to choose more sustainable options.
Timeline and Implementation:
- Reporting and Data Collection: Businesses should start collecting data from January 1, 2023.
- Registration: Businesses may need to register their organization from July 2023, with some businesses needing to register from January 2024.
- Full Implementation: The plan is for full implementation of EPR for packaging by 2027.
- Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM): From 2025, large producers must apply a RAM to their packaging, with the results used to modulate their packaging EPR fees, with difficult to recycle materials and packaging formats attracting higher fees from 2026.
- Reporting of RAM data: Large producers must report their first batch of RAM data by October 1, 2025, covering the period from January 1 to June 30, 2025. Small producers will submit their data for the whole of 2025 by April 1, 2026.
* Download the latest RAM info v1.1 here.
Illustrative EPR Base fees for 2025 to 2026
The update also includes a second release of illustrative base fees for 2025 to 2026.
Illustrative EPR Fees – Source: www.gov.uk