Packaging Legislation Reform
Forthcoming changes to the Packaging Waste Regulations will see costs increase significantly for producers of packaging in the UK. It is hoped that the reform will encourage businesses to switch to more sustainable packaging, to reduce both compliance costs and environmental impact.
The Government is reforming the UK Packaging Waste Regulations to help reduce environmental damage caused by the way we use and dispose of packaging, especially plastic packaging, and ensure that greater quantities of recyclable waste are reprocessed into valuable, high-quality secondary resources.
The changes aim to deliver greater resource circularity that will benefit the environment.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) reforms will represent the most significant change to the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations since their implementation in 1997.
The changes will affect businesses that place packaged products onto the UK market, as they will have to pay the net cost to Local Authorities of collecting and disposing of household packaging waste, alongside continuing to contribute to packaging waste recycling through purchasing packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs).
Under the reformed Regulations, producers’ compliance costs could increase between 7 – 20 times depending on the final design of the new system. Bills may further increase if businesses incur additional costs under the proposed Deposit Return Schemes and Plastic Packaging Tax.
Alongside increased compliance costs, these changes mean that producers’ data collection and reporting requirements have become more complex since 2023 onwards.
Producers will be required to provide transparent data, which should make it easier for businesses to identify problematic materials and effectively make change.
Sellers and distributors will be required to report 2024 packaging sales by UK nation by the end of 2025.
Contact us today with your questions and concerns. We can:
- advise on how future legislation may impact your business
- help you to create a checklist to put you on the path to being EPR ready
- help you to understand cost implications based on your current packaging data submissions
Call us on 0333 253 0150 and ask about our one-to-one clinics. These are free to all Valpak customers.
Get your data systems ready
Valpak’s Data Team has worked with over 500 companies to reduce the burden of environmental reporting. We can offer:
- Consulting Sessions to review your data capture methods and ensure they meet future requirements
- data collection and improved supplier engagement
- transparency and advanced reporting tools
- detailed cost modelling at product level
We urge you to be prepared
Find out how the following may affect your business:
Producers have enhanced obligations to report data under EPR in 2023. And from 2025, the costs affected businesses will be required to shoulder under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging will far exceed contributions made under the current Packaging Waste Recovery Note (PRN) system.
Since April 2022, plastic packaging with less that 30% recycled content has been subject to the Plastic Packaging Tax.
Government is proposing that consumers pay a deposit on each beverage container, which is returned when that container is recycled. Brand owners, fillers and importers of beverage containers will be required to fund this system, and retailers will have to host return points.
Packaging legislation reform
In a video interview with letsrecycle.com, Valpak CEO, Steve Gough, talks about how data is essential for EPR changes…
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