Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme

[edit] Introduction

The UK extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging sets new recycling, data reporting and fee obligations for organisations that supply or import significant amounts of packaging. Businesses must determine if they qualify as small or large producers, record detailed packaging data, meet recycling obligations using PRNs or PERNs, and may need to submit nation-specific information on where packaging is supplied and discarded

The guidance Extended producer responsibility for packaging: who is affected and what to do published 7 June 2022 and updated 19 May 2025 explains how UK organisations that supply or import packaging must comply with extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules, including new duties to report detailed packaging data and pay recycling-related fees. Here in brief.

[edit] Purpose and scope

The page outlines how EPR shifts the costs of managing packaging waste from taxpayers to producers, aiming to increase recycling and encourage more sustainable packaging design. It applies to UK organisations that place packaging on the market, whether supplying to consumers or other businesses.

Who is affected

Obligations fall on organisations that meet turnover and packaging‑tonnage thresholds and carry out defined “packaging activities” such as branding, filling, importing, running online marketplaces, hiring reusable packaging or supplying empty packaging. The guidance distinguishes “small” and “large” producers, with criteria based on annual turnover and the weight of packaging supplied or imported.

[edit] Key obligations

Affected organisations must collect and report granular data on the type, material, weight, class and use of packaging they place on the UK market. Depending on size, they may also need to pay waste management and regulatory fees, obtain PRNs or PERNs as evidence of recycling, and submit “nation data” showing where packaging is supplied and discarded across the UK.

[edit] Groups, data and deadlines

Parent companies and groups can comply as a whole group, as individual subsidiaries, or via mixed arrangements, but each entity that supplies or imports packaging must have its data captured. The guidance explains different reporting periods and deadlines for small and large producers, including six‑monthly reporting for large organisations and specific submission dates linked to each calendar year’s data.

[edit] Fees, support and updates

Fees are modulated so that easier‑to‑recycle packaging attracts lower costs, supported by a recyclability assessment methodology and separate guidance on base fees. Organisations can work with approved compliance schemes for data reporting and PRN/PERN procurement, and the page is regularly updated with changes to deadlines, definitions, and links to technical guidance and user‑support channels.

[edit] Extended Producer Responsibility

Built for the environment, Addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency with a fair and sustainable built environment, published by the RIBA in September 2021, states: ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products’

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