The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (hereafter referred to as the Devolved Administrations) are committed to protecting the environment and have all signalled their strong intent to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. EPR will require that businesses pay the full costs of dealing with the packaging they supply and use when it becomes waste. The basis of this policy is to improve efficiency by placing responsibility on businesses for the environmental impact of their packaging. This to incentivise recyclability and reuse of packaging, and in turn encourage more domestic reprocessing and overall system improvements and savings.
We have published two consultation documents in 2019 and 2021 which, together, outlined our proposals on the introduction of EPR for packaging across the UK. The Government Response published in March 2022 confirmed how we intend to implement EPR for packaging. This can be found here EPR Consultation Government response template (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Since the publication of the Government Response, the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have been working closely to develop the draft Regulations which implement these reforms. Our objective is to ensure that these reforms deliver sustained change. Having reflected on industry feedback, the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations decided to defer EPR for packaging payments from October 2024 to October 2025. A 12-month deferral to packaging payments will give:
The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations remain committed to packaging reforms that work for business, the environment, and the economy as a whole. This consultation now shares the draft Regulations which implement EPR for packaging, as set out in the March 2022 Government Response. These draft Regulations will apply UK-wide.
We are seeking views on the draft text to ensure that the draft Regulations achieve the policy intentions set out in the Government Response, creating clear and operationally feasible obligations. Changes to those policy intentions are minimal and are set out in Section 3. The draft Regulations have been developed following engagement with industry. Alongside this consultation we are planning co-design workshops with stakeholders across the value chain that will address the more detailed, technical areas of the draft Regulations. More information will be shared on these workshops in due course.