They will need to sit for 40 days before being passed.
The final text is available for viewing on the government website and outlines the details of the legislation.
Sebastian Munden, independent chair of the Interim Steering Group and chair of WRAP, commented: “The laying of the pEPR regulations is a significant step towards Circular Living, and reshaping how we produce, consume, and manage resources.
“Creating a more circular packaging system across the UK, incentivising brands to use less packaging overall and to use better materials which are recycled, and recyclable, is crucial. I hope it will drive inventiveness and innovation and embrace the principles of design-make-reuse, and repeat. Lots of work to do, but it’s moments like this when we see real change beginning to take shape.”
pEPR in the UK was first introduced as part of the Resources and Waste Strategy 2018 alongside a series of other reforms including the deposit return scheme (DRS) and Simpler Recycling.
pEPR aims to shift the costs of managing packaging waste to producers from other stakeholders in the packaging value chain, for example local authorities.
Creating pEPR for the UK
In 2019, the UK government launched a public consultation to shape EPR and later formalised its goals in the Environment Act 2021 which mandated that producers cover the entire lifecycle cost of packaging waste, from collection to disposal.
The rollout of pEPR began in 2023 with producers expected to start reporting data on how much packaging they place on the market.
A Scheme Administrator Interim Steering Group for pEPR was formed in January 2024 to guide the process of creating pEPR.
Yesterday (24 October 2024), ministers sent an open letter to the steering group which signalled the government’s support for the group to create an industry-led Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO).
The PRO is intended to represent the interests of industry stakeholders – particularly producers – in the creation and running of pEPR.
To learn more about EPR and its changes, make sure you attend the EPR Conference on 14 November at the IET in London. See the growing agenda and book your tickets here.
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