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Packaging EPR consultations

The EPR consultations enable stakeholders to input into regulatory change. Will you have your say?

What are the packaging EPR consultations?

Before any significant regulatory change government release public consultations to gain stakeholder and public opinion. The responses are then considered and used to shape the regulatory outcome. The second consultations for packaging EPR and a DRS were released by UK Governments in March 2021 and closed on 4 June. A second consultation on consistency of collections was released on 7 May, closing on 4 July.

What is the consultation timeline?

Consultations on the Waste Prevention Plan, Extended Producer Responsibility and a Deposit Return Scheme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland were released in March 2021. The consultation on consistent collections was released in May 2021. A published government response is expected a few months after the consultations close, with some of the new legislation potentially introduced from the end of 2021.

Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging consultation launched

On 24 March 2021 Defra published a consultation giving stakeholders a crucial opportunity to shape what constitutes a major overhaul in waste packaging legislation. Topics covered include a proposed single point of compliance, producers being financially responsible for the entirety of their packaging waste and for EPR to become effective in 2023. The closing date to submit feedback was 4 June 2021.

Request our full EPR for packaging consultation response

We released our full EPR for packaging consultation response to encourage as many stakeholders as possible to respond to government.

We openly shared this to encourage other people to use it for their own response, if they were aligned with our views. We hope this encouraged wider participation to the consultation to maximise representativity of each stakeholder group.

Click here to request your copy now

Request our EPR consultation highlight summary guide

We released an EPR consultation highlight summary guide for all packaging producers, to encourage as many as possible to respond to government. This highlight summary is intended to cover the pertinent points that all packaging producers should have considered feeding back on and it includes reference links to the original government consultation documents.

Click here to request your copy now

Deposit Return Scheme for England, Wales and NI consultation launched

On 24 March 2021 a consultation was launched giving stakeholders a crucial opportunity to shape a future Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Topics covered include proposals for the materials covered, whether an 'all-in' or 'on-the-go' approach should be taken, how the scheme should be managed and retailers being obligated to host return points. The closing date to submit feedback was 4 June 2021.

Request our full DRS consultation response

We released our full DRS consultation response to encourage as many stakeholders as possible to respond to government.

Click here to request your copy now

Request our DRS consultation highlight summary guide

We released a DRS consultation highlight summary guide for all packaging producers, to encourage as many as possible to respond to government. This highlight summary is intended to cover the pertinent points that all packaging producers should have considered feeding back on and includes reference links to the original government consultation documents.

Click here to request your copy now

Consistency in household and business recycling in England consultation launched

On 7 May 2021 a consultation was launched giving stakeholders a crucial opportunity to shape the consistency of recycling in England. Topics covered include proposals for improving the consistency of household, business and food waste recycling. The closing date to submit feedback is 4 July 2021.

Request our consistent collections consultation highlight summary guide

We have released a consistent collections consultation highlight summary guide for all packaging producers, to encourage as many as possible to respond to government. This highlight summary is intended to cover the pertinent points that all packaging producers should consider feeding back on and includes reference links to the original government consultation documents.

Click here to request your copy now

Waste Prevention Programme for England consultation launched

On 18 March 2021 Defra published a consultation asking respondents what they think regulatory and industrial priorities should be for managing resources and waste for textiles, construction, furniture, e-goods, road vehicles, packaging, single-use items and plastics, and food. The closing date to submit feedback was 10 June 2021.

Find out more about the WPP consultation launch

Why should I respond to the consultations?

The government consultations are open to responses from anyone, not just technical experts. It is crucial there is a wide range of respondents with an equal representation of views to achieve the best regulatory outcome.

We can support your response

With such fundamental reform to the packaging producer responsibility system taking place, it is important that all those affected are fairly represented during decision-making. As such, we recommend all stakeholders, including all packaging producers, to submit their own individual response to the consultations. We can provide you with guidance and assistance throughout the whole process if you plan to directly feedback to the consultations. Please contact us to find out more.

You can also request our previous consultation responses here.

How do I stay informed?

We will continue to inform our members on the latest regulatory developments and open consultations. To stay up to date, you can also regularly check the news section on this website as we frequently publish news stories on legislative developments. We also encourage you to take a look at the webinar recordings available on our members' area website using the button below.

View webinar recordings in our members' area

We are here to support you

We can provide support to you for the ongoing EPR reform. Please get in touch as a discussion with our policy team can go a long way to ensure you have the full picture and are fully informed.

Request EPR support now

Find out more about current packaging legislation

Find out if existing packaging producer responsibility legislation applies to you, what you need to do and how we can help.

Find out more

Latest consultations news

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CMA publish draft consumer guidance and consultation on greenwashing

By Louisa Goodfellow 07 Jun 2021

Ecosurety release consistent recycling collections consultation highlight summary for producers

By Ben Luger 25 May 2021

Ecosurety publish EPR and DRS consultation responses to drive up participation

By Ben Luger 21 May 2021

Consultation on introducing consistent recycling collections in England released

By Louisa Goodfellow 07 May 2021