On Wednesday 1 May 2024, the Draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 were sent to the European Union (EU) in respect of Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, and their labelling requirements were notified to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), thereby meeting the UK’s obligations as a member.

This notification and the publication of the Regulations provides further clarity to the entire packaging value chain, across the four nations, as we prepare for the introduction of packaging EPR early next year, together.

The full draft Regulations are available for stakeholders to view here.

Timelines

Following agreed notification periods at the WTO and the EU, packaging EPR legislation will be brought before the UK Parliament later this year, with the aim of it coming into force across the UK by the 1 January 2025. Producers are required to report the amount of packaging they place on the market, for the period January to December 24. This reporting will be used to charge producer fees and pay local authorities (LA) for managing packaging waste for the period, April 25-March 26.

Changes to the draft Regulations

Several significant changes driven by stakeholder feedback have been made to the draft Regulations, following feedback from across the value chain, to the packaging EPR consultation. These changes include:

• The addition of recycling targets for 2025-2030.
• Introducing a provision which ensures that if a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has not been established by 01 January 2028, producers of drinks containers made of PET plastic, aluminium and steel will be subject to the full range of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) obligations until a DRS is operational for this material.
• Amending the labelling provisions so that all labelling obligations will now come in to force on the 1 April 2027.
• The removal of provisions on binned waste and litter payments which will now be delivered through a separate regulation.
• The Scheme Administrator (SA) must now provide guidance on the methodology used and factors considered in assessing net efficient disposal costs and effectiveness.
• Revising the household packaging definition to widen the criteria which allows packaging to become exempt from being classified as household packaging, and therefore exempt from disposal cost fees. This definition mirrors the definitions in the relevant data reporting regulations in each nation.

Further detail on these changes, and other key changes made to the Regulations can be found here.

Engagement

A stakeholder webinar on the changes made to the draft Regulations and the next steps following notification, will be held on Thursday 9 May 2024 between 11:00am – 12:30pm. Please register for the webinar here, where you will be able to ask questions directly to Defra policy experts. The period between notification and the webinar will ensure stakeholders have an opportunity to absorb the legislation in full and ask any question they have that may follow, providing further clarity for business across all four nations.

Reporting packaging data

The next major milestone is 31 May: By this point, if packaging producers have not reported their data, they may face enforcement action. Packaging data for all of 2023 is due in two reports; each covering half of the year. Further details are available here, and further support is available through a helpdesk with details available here. This data is essential to ensure the fees on which this scheme is based, are accurate.

Illustrative fees publication and call for evidence to be published shortly

To further prepare businesses for the implementation of the packaging EPR scheme and support its delivery, the four UK administrations intend to release a call for evidence, to support finalising our approach to modulation. This follows extensive engagement with the whole value chain, including industry, Local Authorities, eNGOs and consumer groups. As part of this release, Defra intend to

publish a set of illustrative base fees, following industry calls for information on costs at the earliest opportunity. For further information on packaging EPR, please email the packaging inbox.

Packaging EPR Statutory Instrument Update For more information, please click here for questions and answers on this update.