The National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) was updated late on Friday (27 March 2026) but reissued yesterday (30 March 2026) due to missing data from Friday afternoon. The data had been collected on Thursday last week (26 March 2026).
The data shows Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) that were issued in December but were not put towards the 2025 targets, known as “carry forward”.
Martin Trigg-Knight, Director of Compliance Services at Clarity Environmental, said: “It was really great to see the UK regulators publish the final recycling totals for Q4 last year on Friday, and the confirmed carry forward tonnage into 2026.
“It was also really great to see their agility with updating these figures on Monday to reflect live data from accepted tonnage on Friday after their initial data release.
“Live and accurate data is extremely important for the functioning of the PRN system under EPR, and this year particularly the carry forward data is even more important as there is very little other data we have access to as yet.”
The plastic PRN carry forward increased to 73,227 compared to 50,205 in 2025 – an increase of 46%.
The aluminium and paper and card carry forward increased by 9% and 12% respectively.
At the same time, the steel PRN carry forward decreased by 38% from 36,877 to 22,977.
The carry forward for the wood PRN decreased from 37,196 in 2025 to 25,171 in 2026 – a decrease of 32%.
Glass (other) and glass (remelt) both decreased by 29% and 6% respectively.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 26 vs 25 | ||
| Paper/board | 246,900 | 327,090 | 366,336 | 39,246 | 12% |
| Glass Other | 2,755 | 13,960 | 9,937 | -4,023 | -29% |
| Glass Re-melt | 42,408 | 70,561 | 66,675 | –3,886 | -6% |
| Total Glass | 45,163 | 84,521 | 76,612 | –7,909 | -9% |
| Aluminium | 7,510 | 7,630 | 8,290 | 660 | 9% |
| Steel | 27,136 | 36,877 | 22,977 | –13,900 | -38% |
| Plastic | 35,384 | 50,205 | 73,227 | 23,022 | 46% |
| Wood | 29,018 | 37,196 | 25,171 | –12,025 | -32% |
Angus Macpherson, Managing Director at The Environment Exchange (t2e), said: “The carry forward sets up 2026 as another challenging year.
“The drop in Glass and the size of the Plastic one may have the greatest impacts.
“The uncertainty of shipping times for export reinforces the need for a flexible approach to the possibility of insufficient PRNs being available to comply in any given year.
“The introduction of a ‘carry back’ for January PRNs would provide that flexibility.”
Trigg-Knight added: “Looking at comparisons this year over the last three years, this shows considerable progress in Plastic, Aluminium, and Paper, but with a notable reduction in Steel and Wood.
“We often see a strong response in Plastic PRN production when prices rise, as the higher price provides the support needed to work on greater cleaning and separation of material for reprocessing, as well as providing better transport cost support for exports.
“With higher Plastic PRN prices fairly consistent across last year, it’s good to see that these prices drove higher production of PRNs in the way that the PRN system was designed.
“This year will no doubt have its challenges for the PRN market, but it’s good see that we start the year with a solid carry forward of Plastic, Aluminium and Paper.”
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