An Incentive to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Packaging
Encouraging packaging manufacturers, designers and brands to reduce packaging or create solutions that can be easily reused and recycled is nothing new. However, more action is needed to greatly reduce the millions of tonnes of packaging waste that we create each year. That action currently takes the form of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR).
Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging
pEPR came into force on the first day of March. From that day on, packaging producers are obliged to record data on the volumes and types of packaging being processed. This data has to be submitted on 1 October 2023 and it will be used to calculate a fee that will be charged in 2024.
pEPR shifts responsibility for covering the costs of dealing with packaging waste away from councils and onto packaging producers. The aim is to encourage packaging design that:
- Reduces the volume of packaging used
- Encourages packaging reuse
- Can be widely recycled into new packaging
- Is manufactured from recycled materials
So, as a producer of packaging, the incentive is to minimise the fee to be paid.
How to Minimise pEPR Fees
The first question to ask is whether goods need any packaging at all and if so, calculating the optimum solution to offer protection without excess. The next is considering features that enable the packaging to be reused. Finally, where packaging is not currently produced from recycled materials or isn’t widely recycled through household collections, is there an alternative?
To understand more about pEPR and if your company is obligated to collect data, visit the Government website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/businesses-urged-to-get-ready-for-reforms-to-cut-packaging-waste
