Businesses need to ‘act swiftly’ with EPR, reports WSTA

UK businesses which produce or use packaging are required to enrol in the government’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme to improve recycling and reduce the amount of packaging waste.   

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has reported that out of 6,000 businesses that have enrolled into the scheme only 2000 have registered their data. 

It also highlighted that around 1,000 producers are still expected to enrol in the Recycling Packaging Database. 

Report 

 The Wine and Trade Association has said Defra has warned that obligated businesses need to enrol and report their packaging data by 31 May 2024 to avoid being fined.   

 Businesses that are obligated to register include businesses that supply packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand, place goods into packaging, import products in packaging, own an online marketplace, hire or loan out reusable packaging and supply empty packaging.  

It also reports that companies will need to register if their annual turnover is £1 million or more and if they were responsible for more than 25 tonnes of packaging in 2022.    

Smaller organisations with a turnover between £1m to £2m will need to record their data, and begin reporting annually from 2025.    

Incentivise  

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “Extended producer responsibility is intended to ensure that businesses that produce packaging are financially responsible for the cost of disposing of it. The aim of the scheme is to incentivise businesses to use less packaging and to make it more recyclable.   

“We don’t want anyone in our industry to be caught out by failing to comply with their packaging obligations. It is important that everyone puts this firmly on their to do list for before the 31 May deadline to avoid being penalised.”  

Delay 

EPR for packaging fees were originally planned to start in October 2024, but were deferred for a year, and will now start in October 2025.   

Defra had committed to release the cost of the fees by Summer 2023, but these are yet to be announced.  

To find out more about changes in the sector, visit the National Letsrecycle.com Conference on 6 June at QEII Centre in London. To book tickets to attend or for more information please click here.