Defra release third version of packaging illustrative base fees

On 20 December the third iteration of the estimated pEPR base fees was released by Defra. 

The fees will apply to packaging reported as household waste that was placed on the market by liable producers in 2024, and will be charged for in 2025. The fees cover the cost of collecting and recycling packaging waste by local authorities and are paid in addition to any PRN obligations. This is the third version of illustrative base fees, with previous iterations released in August and September this year.

The December 2024 illustrative base fees are as follows:

The fees have been projected using the most recent data submitted by large organisations to the EPR Report Packaging Data portal, and the local authority waste management costs modelled using Defra’s ‘Local Authority Packaging Cost and Performance’ model.

Final fees coming in July 2025

The actual, final fees businesses will pay next year will not be confirmed until July 2025, after the full 2024 calendar years’ worth of producer data has been submitted. Whereas the previous version of the fees have provided a range of lower, intermediate and high estimates, this announcement provides a single estimate per material to ‘provide as much clarity as possible’.