If your business uses, handles, imports or generates packaging, then you are likely to be affected by the new Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation. 

DEFRA’s newly introduced Extended Producer Responsibility scheme makes businesses responsible for paying for the packaging waste they generate and the packaging they place on the market.  This means that manufacturers, importers, and retailers have new and challenging obligations to fulfil.

As a business, it’s crucial to understand your obligations under these new regulations to avoid potential penalties and maintain your reputation as an environmentally responsible organisation. 

In this article, we’ll guide you through all the information you need to determine whether EPR impacts your business and the steps you may need to take to comply with these new rules. 

Is your business obligated under EPR Regulations?

Your business is obligated to collect and report packaging data under EPR if it meets ALL of the following criteria:

• you’re an individual business, subsidiary or group (but not a charity)
• you have an annual turnover of £1 million or more (based on your most recent annual accounts)
• you were responsible for more than 25 tonnes of packaging
• you carry out any of the following packaging activities:
  • supply packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand
  • place goods into packaging that’s unbranded when it’s supplied
  • import products in packaging
  • own an online marketplace
  • hire or loan out reusable packaging
  • supply empty packaging

Understanding Qualifying Packaging Activities

Under the new EPR regulations, your business is obligated to report packaging data if you carry out any of the following packaging activities:

• Supply packaged goods to the UK market under your brand – if your business sells products or goods in packaging labelled with your brand and supplies them to the UK market, you are considered a packaging producer under EPR. This includes goods produced, packed or imported by third parties on your behalf.
• Place goods into packaging that’s unbranded when it’s supplied – if you place goods into packaging you may need to report under EPR. This could be goods you packaged for your own organisation or another organisation.
• Import products in packaging – you may be liable for EPR if your organisation imports packaged products from outside of the UK supplies these products to the UK market. You may be obligated if you sell imported goods packed or filled by a UK third party on behalf of a company not established in the UK. You may need to take action even if you discard packaging before selling the goods.
• Own an online marketplace – online marketplaces are defined as websites or apps that allow non-UK businesses to sell their goods online to UK consumers. Even if you don’t handle the packaging directly, you will be responsible for the packaging generated by these activities if you own such a marketplace.
• Hire or loan out reusable packaging – if your business provides reusable packaging, such as pallets or crates, to other companies on a hire or loan basis, you are considered a packaging producer for EPR reporting. A business must record data regarding the first time that item is placed onto the UK market.
• Supply empty packaging – you may be obligated if you manufacture or import empty packaging such as boxes, bottles, or containers and then supply it to a business that is not classed as a large organisation.

Reviewing your business packaging activities carefully is crucial to determine if they fall under these categories. Even if packaging is not your core business, you may still have EPR obligations if you engage in any of these activities.

Determining your organisation’s EPR classification

The level of your EPR obligations depends on whether your business is classified as a small or large organisation. Small organisations have an annual turnover between £1 million and £2 million and are responsible for supplying or importing between 25-50 tonnes of packaging. Large organisations have an annual turnover above £2 million and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging.

Producers within these thresholds will have an obligation to report “placed on the market” data, meet recycling obligations, and pay disposal costs for Local Authority collected waste.

Those who have a “Reporting Only” obligation must register with their regulator, and collect and report information on the packaging that they supply to the UK market.

Those who have a ’Full Obligation‘, will also have to meet further obligations based on this data.

Key obligations for small and large organisations:

Small organisations must:

• Record data on all empty packaging and packaged items supplied through the UK market from either 1st January 2023 or 1st March 2023. You do not currently have to report data, but you will need to in the future. 

Large organisations have additional obligations, including:

• Create an account for your organisation to report your packaging data. 
• Pay a waste management fee.
• Pay scheme administrator costs.
• Pay a charge to the environmental regulator.
• Purchase packaging waste recycling notes (PRNs) or packaging waste export recycling notes (PERNS) to meet recycling obligations
• Report data about empty packaging and packaged goods you supplied or imported

Nation of Sale Obligation

Nation data is information about which nation in the UK packaging is supplied and which nation in the UK packaging is discarded. Producers will have an obligation to report where packaging is disposed of, broken down by nation within the UK. Not all producer types will be obligated for both sets of obligations.

What do you need to do to comply with EPR?

The key obligations under EPR are that producers must register their organisation, report packaging data, and ensure their products are appropriately collected, recycled, or recovered.

There are increased reporting requirements for producers under the new EPR regulations. Organisations will now have to collect and provide detailed reporting on the packaging they produce and how the waste will be managed.

Reporting periods for 2023

If you have all the required data recorded from 1st January 2023, you should report this data.

If you do not have all the required data recorded from 1st January, you must report all of your data from 1st March 2023. If you report data that covers a period starting from 1st March, this will be used to calculate a full year’s worth of data.

Reporting periods for 2024

Some of the rules for reporting data are changing from 2024 onwards.

If you have all the data under the new rules for 2024, you should report it in two batches:

• report your January to June data from 1st July 2024
• report your July to December data from 1st January 2025

If you do not have all the data required under the new rules, you should still report in two batches:

• do not report any data relating to packaging supplied between 1st January and 31st March 2024
• report data collected under the new rules from 1st April to 30th June – do this from 1st July 2024
• report your 1st July to 31st December data from 1st January 2025 – this data must follow the new 2024 rules

If you do this, the data from the two submissions will be used to calculate the three missing months (January, February and March 2024).

Deadlines for reporting packaging data

Small organisations should:

• collect your 2023 packaging data – you do not have to report it
• collect your 2024 data and submit it by April 2025

Large organisations

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, you should have submitted your data by:

• 1st October 2023 to report for January to June 2023 
• 1st April 2024 to report for July to December 2023 

In Wales, you should have submitted data for July to December 2023 by 1st April 2024. You can include data from January to June 2023 if you have it.

The regulations lay out these deadlines. You should make your best effort to meet them, but no enforcement action will be taken regarding late submission if your data is submitted by 31st May 2024.

Consequences of EPR non-compliance 

Failing to comply with EPR regulations can result in significant penalties, damaging your reputation and financial standing. By understanding your obligations and implementing effective packaging data management processes, you can avoid these consequences and demonstrate your commitment to environmental responsibility.

How PackTotal simplifies EPR compliance

Managing complex packaging data and reporting under two waste management schemes can be challenging for businesses. That’s where PackTotal comes in. Our innovative software solution is designed to streamline your packaging data management process, making EPR compliance simple and efficient.

PackTotal’s Extended Producer Responsibility system is an alternative method for businesses looking for help to manage their own business information in-house and create packaging data reports.

Installing our innovative packaging data management software enables you to gather, manage, and view all the key packaging information, such as sustainability and material specifications data for every component of your product’s packaging.

With PackTotal, you can collate your packaging information so that you can produce EPR submission files that meet HMRC specifications, thus fulfilling your EPR obligations and facilitating quick and easy data submissions to DEFRA or third parties.

Don’t let the complexities of EPR compliance overwhelm your business. By investing in PackTotal, you can simplify your EPR compliance process and enhance your overall packaging data management strategy, leading to improved efficiency and cost savings.

Contact us today to learn more about how PackTotal can help your business meet its EPR reporting requirements and streamline your packaging data management process. Our team of experts is ready to provide you with a personalised demo and answer any questions you may have.

For full information and guidance about the Extended Producer Responsibility regulation, visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging-who-is-affected-and-what-to-do