Introduction

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ensures producers cover the full cost of collecting and recycling the packaging they place on the market. Introduced in 2023, the new rules are more complex and costly for producers than the previous regulations. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the purpose of EPR?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a global policy approach that applies the ‘polluter pays’ principle and supports a circular economy by making materials easier to recover, recycle, and reuse.

Packaging EPR encourages producers to use less packaging and choose more recyclable materials, by making them financially responsible for collecting and recycling their packaging at end of life. Hard‑to‑recycle materials carry higher EPR costs, creating a strong incentive to improve packaging design.

EPR also raises essential funding to improve recycling performance and infrastructure.

When is it taking place?

UK packaging EPR began phasing in from 1 January 2023 and is set for full implementation by 2027, so it’s important to check now whether your organisation is affected.

Am I impacted?

Packaging EPR applies to most UK organisations that handle or supply packaging, and compliance is a legal requirement.

Depending on whether you meet the government’s threshold criteria - and whether you qualify as a small or large organisation - you may need to collect and report packaging data and potentially pay fees. Our article Identify if your organisation is impacted by packaging EPR explains how to check this.

All organisations, including those below the threshold, will eventually need to follow mandatory recycling labelling rules for their packaging. Although government temporarily removed these labelling provisions in September 2024, they are expected to return in some form, with timing yet to be confirmed.