Latest News

14 May 

Business Readiness Forum with useful timeline for forthcoming packaging legislation change over the next two years. Slides BRF 140524

10 May 

Defra Resource and Waste Newsletter covering:

• Simpler Recycling – Policy Updates  
• EPR: data submission reminder 
• EA Charges Scheme Consultation   
• Material Facilities workshop update   
• Disposable vapes recycling    
• UK-wide ban on wet wipes
• Resources & Waste Strategy for England
• Agenda for May forums   

1 May

Defra publish revised draft EPR Stautory Instrument that has now been sent to the EU and WTO for comment.

23 April

Resource & Waste Newsletter with updates on MF regs, EPR, Digital Waste Tracking etc.

11 April

Slides from todays Resources and Waste Forum webinar.R&WF 110424 This provided a progress report on Digital Waste Tracking including slides showing an example of how it would work. Still a lot of issues to resolve though. Also gave updates on EPR data and the Materials Facilities Regulations, clarifying the requirement this imposes on all facilities taking in waste from multiple sources including single material streams eg paper merchant.

5 April

Latest Resources and Waste newsletter.

18 March

Defra has published the latest Resources and Waste Newsletter. This includes updates on a number of areas including Digital Waste Tracking.

22 February

The EA has started to set up audits with EPR producers where they have registered and submitted data for 2023. This includes to provision of a pre-audit questionnaire which is 11 pages asking for a lot of information.

16 February

Latest Resources and Waste Newsletter published relating to a wide range of issues.

13 February

Defra webinar on on amendments to the EPR data regulations for 2024 EPR data amendments 130224

18 January 2024

Defra issue latest Resources and Waste Newsletter with important news on revisions to the EPR Data Regulations as well as updates across a wide range of waste developments.

28 December 2023

Defra issue EPR Newsletter with information on changes to the EPR Data Regulations for 2024.

18 December 2023

EA publishes updated Agreed Positions and Technical Interpretations

4 October 2023

Defra Resources and Waste Newsletter. This contains information on recent engagement sessions, the Scheme Administrator development, and upcoming events.

5 September

EA announces Regulatory Position Statement 288 which states that enforcement action will not be taken in England or Scotland against producers that fail to register by the registration and data submission deadlines so long as they supply data by 31 May 2024.

16 August 2023

The Report Packaging Data (RPD) systemis now open for producers to ‘enrol’ but this must be done by a Director or Company Secretary, partner or sole trader after which they can delegate authority to someone else.

.28 July 2023

Defra publish consultation on EPR Regulations including a draft Statutory Instrument

Overview

Extended Producer Responsibility is an extension of the current Packaging Waste  Regulations that following a government decision in July to delay implementation by a year, is due to fully come into force in 2025 broadly in line with the consultation responses published in March 2023. Defra has since published draft regulations alongside another consultation, this time on the detail of the draft regulations, indicating an intent to change some of the contentious issues that industry has raised.

The current system will operate as normal for 2023 and 2024 ie registration by the April deadlines with data for packaging placed on the market in the previous year.

Defra has now published a single page that has links to all the guidance currently available on EPR.

There are two key differences between the two systems.

• ‘Producers’, currently any business that produces packaging raw material, coverts raw material into packaging, fills whole packaging, sells filled packaging or imports full or empty packaging is that for household packaging waste, will be redefined as effectively, any business that puts product into packaging or that imports filled packaging. There are then subsets of this which will be described below.
• Whilst the existing PRN system will remain as the method of meeting targets, producers that supply goods that end up as household packaging waste will, as well as paying for PRNs, have to pay a ‘waste’ levy on all the packaging they put into the UK market. This will see producer annual costs rise from current levels of around £50-100m in normal years (2022 was around £500m) to £1.5-2bn.

The regulations have been changed to bring them in line with the revised EU Waste Framework Directive that the UK carried over after Brexit. Article 8a demands that producers pay the Full Net Cost of Recycling of municipal waste – collection, sorting and recycling..The majority of the levy will go to local authorities through a Scheme Administrator that has yet to be appointed. Defra is expected to publish the estimated ‘waste’ fee rates in late spring, then amend at the end of 2023 based on the first 6 months of data submitted and then again in June 2024 based on the full year 2023 data.

The new regulations have not yet been published but won’t take effect until 2025 in terms of producer payments. However from 1 Jan 2023, any business caught by the new regulations should start to record data for packaging that is obligated under the new system although it only became mandatory to collect the data on 1 March 2023. Producers with a turnover >£2m and that handle >50 tonnes must submit their first 6 month’s data by 1 October 2023. Small producers (£1-2m, 25-50 tonnes) must submit 2023 data by April 2024.

This means that in 2023 and 2024, producers caught under both systems will be reporting their normal current system data by the normal April deadlines, paying for PRNs for compliance as well as then reporting 2023 and 2024 ‘placed on the market’ data under the new system.

The list of types of business that must start to record and will have to submit data is more complicated than the simple definition above. It will also include packaging manufacturers above the threshold that supply empty packaging to businesses below the threshold.

‘Producers’ will fall under a number of categories.

Those falling into categories A-F above the £1m/25t threshold will be required to report all relevant tonnage for each 6 month period.

Those falling into categories A-F above the £2m/50t threshold will be required to buy PRNs to meet targets and pay the waste fee for all household packaging in 2024 onwards.

Those falling into category G above the £1m t/o and sell more products in more than 25 tonnes of packaging will be required to report nation data regardless of whether they sit in categories A-F.

A. Brand owner – A person whose name, trade mark or other distinctive mark appears on an item of filled packaging is a producer in relation to that item of packaging and any item of packaging contained within branded packaging, or forming primary packaging together with the branded packaging, whether or not that item is also branded.

B. A packer/filler is a producer in relation to any filled packaging which is filled by the packer/filler; and for which there is no brand owner.

C. An importer is a producer in relation to any filled packaging imported into the United Kingdom by the importer which is transport packaging or secondary packaging or any other packaging for which there is no brand owner where the brand owner is not responsible for the import of the packaging; or for which the brand owner is not a large producer.

D. A distributor is a producer in relation to any unfilled packaging which is manufactured or imported by the distributor and supplied to a person who is not a large producer

E. An online marketplace operator is a producer in relation to; (a) any packaging on items which are sold on their online marketplace by a person, acting in the course of business, who is not established in the United Kingdom; and (b) any unfilled packaging supplied on their online marketplace— (i) by a person, acting in the course of business, who is not established in United Kingdom; (ii) to a business which is not a large

F. A service provider is a producer in relation to any reusable packaging, the first time that packaging is supplied, but not otherwise.

G. A seller is a large or small producer that supplies packaged goods in any type of packaging to the end user that removes the packaging. Sellers will be required to report on the UK nation the packaging left to go to the end user and the nation in which that packaging is then removed by the end user.

The reporting timeline is as follows:

Categories A-F will be required to report relevant data by the end of 3 months after each 6 month period eg by 31 Sept 2023 for packaging placed on the market 1 Jan – 30 Jun 2023.

Category G will be required to report nation data by 1 Dec 2024 for 2023 sales and then by 1 April for the previous year thereafter.

The requirement to record data were applied in February 23 through the The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) Regulations 2022 laid before Parliament on 22 Nov.

Amendments to this SI were published on 21st April but as on 24th April. are not yet in force.

The Data Regulations are being amended again to include a number of changes, especially the definition of household packaging. The Statutory Instrument is due to take effect on 1 April 2024.

Although Defra states they are ‘minor’ they are significant such as clarifying who is the producer where two brands appear on the packaging.

Defra has published guidance on who will be required to record and report and how.

Packaging waste: prepare for extended producer responsibility – updated 17th March 2023

How to collect your packaging data for extended producer responsibility – updated 17th March 2023

Packaging Data File Specification – 24th March 2023

Defra have been holding a series of webinars on the producer requirements for the new system. These are mostly described in the Guidance above, but they also put up slides on the proposed data input screens and an obligation checker they are intending to provide although probably not until the end of the year or early January. The webinars are reproduced on two Youtube links below.

• Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR) – January 2023 Requirements Webinar (1 of 2) – YouTube
• Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR) – January 2023 Requirements Webinar (2 of 2) – YouTube

Some of the key slides are shown using the links below. These are taken from screenshots, so forgive the quality.

Data input screens (1st tranche of data for the 6 months 1st January – 30th June not needed until by 1 October).

Obligation checker to determine whether a business might need to collect data from 1st January.

Agreed Positions and Technical Interpretations for producers (v3 published 18 Dec 2023)

Registration

The key links for registration and data submission are as follows:

• Setting up a login on RPD – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-packaging-data
• Signing in once you have a login
• Organisation and brand CSV templates
• Guidance on completing organisation templates
• Packaging data CSV file
• Guidance on completing the data file
• Guidance on what data to collect

Reprocessors and Exporters

Under the new system, there will be a significant increase in the costs to get accredited as well as the conditions of accreditation. However, because the regulations will not be in place in time for the accreditation application window in September this year, the costs and requirements will be exactly the same as current for 2024 accreditation. The changes are likely to come in for the 2025 accreditation applications submitted from 1 September 2024.

As we try and understand how this will all work and as new Guidance is published, we will keep updating this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ from 10 Jan 2023

FAQ 29 November 2022.

FAQ 21 Feb from BRF

FAQ Nation Sales Data 16 March 2023

FAQ Data reporting 28 March 2023

FAQ various 18 April 2023 (includes questions on SA and fee publishing dates)

Webinars

Household and Non-Household packaging definition – youtube

Slides from above webinar

PRNs and EPR – you tube

Nation Sales Data – youtube

Slides from Nation Sales Data webinar

Slides from Business Readiness Forum (28/03/23) – update on proposed amendments to data collection SI and main EPR SI.

Slides from BRF 18/04/23 – Q&A on definitions

EPR definitions BRF 180423 – youtube

Slides from BRF 01/08/23 – Update on delay, MRF reg changes, consistency etc.

Resource and Waste Newsletter 07/08/23

Producer enrolment – 14/08/23 – youtube

Producer enrolment slides

Producer – choosing a compliance scheme – 14/08/23 – youtube

Producer – choosing a compliance scheme slides

Defra/Eunomia webinar on programme for developing modulated fees slides

Slides from Defra BRF 05/09/23

BRF 031023 slides 03/10/23

Resources and Waste newsletter 17/10/23

BRF 261023 (primarily about Simpler Recycling and Digital Waste Tracking)

Upcoming Events (as at 04/10/23)

Defra EPR Forums 2024

February

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 6 February 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 7 February 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 8 February 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

March

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 5 March 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 6 March 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 7 March 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

April

• BRF/WMF/LAEF – all now wrapped up into a single meeting on Thursday 11 April 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

May

• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 8 May 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 14 May 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 16 May 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

June

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 4 June 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 5 June 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 6 June 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

July

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 2 July 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 3 July 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 4 July 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

September

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 3 September 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 4 September 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 5 September 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

October

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 1 October 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 2 October 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 3 October 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

November

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 5 November 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 6 November 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only.
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 7 November 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here

December

• Business Readiness Forum: Tuesday 3 December 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here
• Local Authority Engagement Forum: Wednesday 4 December 2024, 2pm-3.30pm – invite only.
• Waste Management Forum: Thursday 5 December 2024, 10am-11.30am – register here.