Packaging reform draft regulations consultation
Consultation on the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
The United Kingdom Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) are jointly consulting on draft Regulations which implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging.
EPR will require that businesses pay the full costs of dealing with the packaging they supply and use when it becomes waste. The basis of this policy is to improve efficiency by placing responsibility on businesses for the environmental impact of their packaging. This to incentivise recyclability and reuse of packaging, and in turn encourage more domestic reprocessing and overall system improvements and savings.
Following consultations in 2019 and 2021 a decision has been taken to defer EPR for packaging payments from October 2024 to October 2025. A 12 month deferral to packaging payments will give:
- Industry additional time to prepare for the new requirements, which may include reviewing and improving current packaging use.
- Industry and local authorities more opportunity to be involved in the design of the scheme.
- Local authorities and waste management companies more time to adjust current services and to introduce new efficient and effective services for EPR.
The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations remain committed to packaging reforms that work for business, the environment, and the economy as a whole. The consultation shares the draft Regulations which implement EPR for packaging UK-wide.
Views are sought on the draft text to ensure that the draft Regulations achieve existing policy intentions and creating clear and operationally feasible obligations.
Find out more about the consultation and how to respond.
The closing date for responses is Monday 9 October 2023.
First published 28 July 2023