And, the department has also said it is “committed” to consistent recycling collections but this needs to be considered “in context of the economic environment everyone is dealing with at the moment”.
The updates were announced in a newsletter published by Defra last night (7 July), providing a summary of the recent business readiness and local authority engagement forums.
*Updated on 9 August as Defra sought to clarify that the review will be on the administration of the scheme, not the overall EPR system.
EPR
The update included a summary from Sarah Homer, Defra’s director general for portfolio delivery.
She explained that over the next 12 months, “work will continue get the design of EPR right and give as much clarity as possible to allow for preparations for the new requirements in this additional time”.
She added: “The government will use the additional year to continue to discuss the scheme design with industry and reduce the costs of implementation wherever possible.”
For the design review, Ms Homer said this will be launched and will aim to make the design “as sector led as possible, drawing on international best practice”.
We need to work through the collection reforms in context of the economic environment everyone is dealing with
- Sarah Homer, Defra
Consistency
Ms Homer also provided answers to questions posted by attendees at the events.
In response to someone asking when consistency will be published, she said: “We are still working across government on policy decisions around the next steps for issuing guidance and clarity to the dates for consistent collections.
“We need to work through the collection and packaging reforms in context of the economic environment everyone is dealing with at the moment. We absolutely understand the pressures around planning, budgeting, commissioning and procurement for local authorities and we will provide greater clarity as soon as we possibly can.”
Scheme administrator
The scheme administrator, which will play a huge role in the system by setting fees and overseeing it, will be “developed over the summer and early autumn, working with producers and the wider value chain”.
In parallel Defra “will introduce a shadow scheme administrator which will ensure sector-led governance of the establishment process”.
‘Committed’
Defra was keen to stress throughout the update that it remains committed to the reforms.
Rebecca Pow MP, the minister for environmental quality and resilience explained that the “adjustment” of EPR timelines is to ensure EPR is “delivered in a way that meets the needs and expectations of the entire packaging and collection value chain”.
Minister Pow also reasoned that the announcement on the delay of the producer responsibility payments from 2024 to 2025 is a demonstration the government “has listened to industry and has taken action”.
Minister Pow added: “EPR is a cornerstone of the Resources and Waste reforms. We want to continue to have an open dialogue with the wider value chain and work closely over the coming months to ensure that we actually develop what we like to consider world class reforms so that we can transform the way we think about our resources and our use of them.”
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