Packaging EPR guidance updated by government

The official guidance outlines how UK organisations should identify if they are impacted by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging and how they should start preparing now.

The recent update to the packaging EPR guidance provides more detail to the multitude of changes EPR will bring to packaging compliance, including identifying liable producers, specific reporting requirements and the role of compliance schemes.

Below we highlight the key updates producers should be aware of and where further clarification from government is still required.

Liable producers

We know that the move to a ‘single point of compliance’ for a given piece of packaging will be a major shift in the packaging regulations, and identifying the right producer is complex – especially as every piece of packaging on the UK market needs to be accounted for.

The updated guidance explains in new detail the seven business activities that form part of the main EPR threshold. These activities help determine if an organisation is obligated and will potentially pay waste management fees and recycling evidence costs. For instance, placing own-branded packaging on the market - identified by a “logo, a trademark, [or] any distinctive mark” – will result in an organisation picking up the obligation, even if they use a third-party to put their packaging on the market.

The guidance also explains the other packaging activities liable under EPR, such as owning an online marketplace and importing products in packaging. What it doesn’t resolve yet, however, are the more difficult scenarios arising from complex supply chains. For instance, if an importer puts another UK organisation’s ‘own-brand’ packaging on the market – who takes the obligation? This should be made much clearer in upcoming updates from government.

Reporting packaging data

Organisations classed as small under packaging EPR will have to report data annually whilst organisations classed as large will have to report packaging data at least twice a year. This will inform how much the scheme administrator will charge for local authority packaging management costs, and how much evidence of recycling they must buy.

The first two reporting deadlines under EPR for large organisations – October 2023, and April 2024 – will not need to inform a full recyclability-based fee modulation starting in 2025, so the data does not need to be as granular.