Packaging Obligation Calculator

Producers - other than 'small producers' that have a turnover between £2-5m - must submit data - either direct to the Agencies if registering directly or to their compliance schemes if not - using the data spreadsheet provided by the Agencies.

This is made up of a number of tables for: UK activity, exports, imports and a final Table 4 showing the obligation ie the tonnage that a producer must recover or recycle based on the packaging they placed on the market in the previous year.

The equation used to calculate this Table 4 obligation is fairly complex and we have therefore produced downloadable spreadsheets for 2009 and 2010 based on the Agency table requirements where you can enter your data and it will calculate your obligation. You can then save this on your computer. At the bottom, we have also included a cost calculator where you need to enter current PRN prices. The PRN page on this website gives the average sort of prices for the quarters and the current price.

CALCULATOR - 2010

We have also produced a GUIDE for the completion of the data table that is taken from the Defra Guidance document.

Small producers

For producers with a turnover between £2-5m who choose the 'SMALL PRODUCER' option, calculating the obligation is somewhat simpler. For 2009, you must multiply your turnover (in £millions) by 28 and use the predominant material. Therefore, a producer with a turnover in the last accounts of £4.25m and whose predominant packaging activity was in glass ( a wine merchant, for instance), would have an obligation of 119 tonnes of glass.