What is EPR?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) was initiated after the UK, alongside 195 other countries, signed the 2015 Paris Agreement. The overall goal is that EPR will help shift society from a linear to a more circular economy, where resources are reused and the exploitation and subsequent damage to the environment are reduced. EPR is designed to help protect the environment and promote sustainability by ensuring that producers are responsible for the environmental impact of their products throughout their entire lifecycle.
What is EPR Packaging? (pEPR)
EPR for packaging is a new regulation in the UK that changes how organisations responsible for packaging must manage their recycling obligations. This regulation applies to obligated UK organisations that import or supply packaging. EPR for packaging makes businesses financially accountable for the entire lifecycle of the packaging they place on the market. In simple terms, companies that put packaging on the UK market have to pay a levy, which will be used to help fund and develop better recycling systems. Responsibility depends on the nature of how the packaging is supplied; typically, it will be the packaging brand owner, pack filler, or UK importer who is obligated.
A company may be responsible if they are classed as a large organisation (they handle a minimum 50 tonnes of packaging materials annually and have an annual turnover or £2 million) and are one of the following:
- Brand Owner: Supply packaged goods labelled with your own brand within the UK.
- Importer: Import products from outside the UK that are in packaging.
- Pack Filler: Placing goods into unbranded packaging.
- Distributor: Supply empty packaging to other small businesses.
- Service Provider: If you hire or loan out reusable packaging e.g. wooden pallets.
- Online Market Place: Operates a website/app that allows non-UK businesses to sell their goods within the UK. Large organisations are obligated to pay fees towards packaging recycling (PRNs), report packaging data twice a year and pay modulated fees if packaging is supplied to households.
PB Group Route to Compliance
We’re fully supporting the UK’s EPR regulations, which means we’re actively contributing to better recycling systems and waste management right across the UK. PB Group supplies empty packaging and is classified as a ‘Distributor’ of packaging in the EPR system. Therefore, we are responsible for data reporting and fee collection for those who are not an ‘Obligated Producer’ on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. (DEFRA). Our updated prices, reflecting the EPR initiative will be applied soon.
Declaration of Exemption (Company-wide)
If you believe your organisation is exempt from PB Group charging you the EPR levy, you can register a company-wide declaration of exemption online.
For all other exemption declarations, (specific products or specific orders) please speak to your PB Group sales agent or account manager when you place an order.
To start your company-wide declaration click below:
