Latest fees update for packaging producers
Defra has released the third round of its illustrative base fees for extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR).
The fees cover the cost of collecting and recycling packaging waste by local authorities and are paid by large packaging producers in addition to any Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN) obligations.
The final fees will be confirmed by Defra in July 2025 once a full year of producer data has been submitted and will be applicable to all packaging placed on the market by large producers in 2024.
Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM).
Defra also released their Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) for packaging materials. This methodology will enable large producers to assess the recyclability of their packaging and produce a red/amber/green output which will inform the level of fee payable for that material from year 2 of pEPR (2026 onwards).
Green signifies the packaging is both recyclable and there is adequate collection and recycling infrastructure in the UK and will therefore attract a lower fee than amber or red. Red packaging has specifications that make it difficult to recycle at scale, while amber packaging may experience challenges during collection, sorting, reprocessing etc.
Additional reporting requirement for 2025
Large producers will be required to apply the recyclability assessment methodology for packaging placed on the market from 1 January 2025, with the first reporting deadline being 1 October 2025.
Defra webinar
Defra are running a webinar on Thursday 16 January 2025 between 14:00 – 16:00 to walk through the Base Fees, the RAM and the approach for reporting. Please register for the webinar here.
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