The UK government is introducing new extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging regulations for UK organisations who supply or import packaging into the UK. The requirements under these regulations are being phased in from 2024 onwards.
To support members with the implementation of the new requirements, and to keep members up to date with the latest announcements, we will publishing a monthly member update. This will provide updates on:
- Regulations and governance
- Data reporting
- Guidance and engagement
- Recyclability labelling
- Disposal fees
With the support of our environmental partners Beyondly, we will keep the BTHA packaging EPR member guidance up to date in line with any changes. Members can view and download the BTHA guidance.
Regulations and Governance
2024 Amendments to Data Reporting Regulations:
The 2024 Amendment Regulations which slightly amend the pEPR reporting requirements for packaging placed on the market in 2024.
The following Amendment Regulations came into force on 1st April 2024:
- England: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
- Wales: The Packaging Waste (Data Collection and Reporting) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
- Scotland: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024
The Northern Ireland SI is public but comes into force later on the 1st May 2024:
- Northern Ireland: The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (No. 2) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
Government has published updated guidance on the data reporting requirements, which includes the requirements for 2023 packaging placed on market (POM), and the amended requirements for 2024 packaging POM.
Defra hosted a webinar in February 2024 outlining the changes to the data reporting requirements within the 2024 Amendment Regulations. Defra also summarised the changes within their Resources & Waste newsletter here.
The Main pEPR Regulations:
The Main pEPR Regulations which will repeal the Data Reporting Regulations (as amended) and The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, have been refined following the 2023 draft Regulations consultation and are currently undergoing various legal checks. Defra are still on track to notify the EU and the World Trade Organisation in ‘Spring 2024’, at which point they will be made public, and the UK government consultation response will be published. The notification period is 3-months, following which UK government plan to lay the Regulations in Parliament and bring them into force in ‘Autumn 2024’ so they are in force for 2025 compliance year onwards.
Data Reporting
There are several packaging data submission deadlines at this time, under two sets of Regulations. A reminder of the various deadlines is included below.
For The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007:
7th April 2024: Deadline for data submissions and registration if you do not use a compliance scheme (direct registrants). This should be completed on the Government portal Report Packaging Data.
15th April 2024: Compliance scheme data submission and registration deadline if you use a compliance scheme. Please note the compliance scheme will have already requested this data be submitted to them so they can perform verification checks in advance of submitting and registering your organisation for this date.
For The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (UK nation) Regulations 2023 (as amended):
1st October 2023: Deadline for large organisations to report first half year (January – June 2023) pEPR placed on the market data submissions – for both direct registrants and compliance schemes. Please note the compliance scheme will have already requested this data be submitted to them so they can perform verification checks in advance of submitting and registering your organisation for this date.
1st April 2024: Deadline for large organisation to report second half year (July – December 2023) pEPR placed on the market data submissions – for both direct registrants and compliance schemes. Please note the compliance scheme will have already requested this data be submitted to them so they can perform verification checks in advance of submitting and registering your organisation for this date.
31st May 2024: Extension of the 2023 first half year and second half year placed on the market data submission deadlines. You can complete both submissions up to the 31st May 2024 without enforcement action take from the regulators (the Environment Agencies). The regulators still encourage producers to submit their pEPR placed on the market data as soon as possible leading up to this deadline.
Guidance and Engagement
The next Business Readiness Forum run by Defra is scheduled for the 11th April 2024. You can register here. The aim of the forum is to increase producer awareness of the pEPR reform and their obligations within them.
The regulators (the Environment Agencies) have published a new Agreed Positions & Technical Interpretations document which outlines the 2024 packaging data reporting requirements in line with the 2024 Amendment Regulations (as above in the Regulations & Governance section), alongside the existing version for 2023 packaging placed on the market.
- For data submissions on 2023 packaging placed on the market, please refer to: pEPR Agreed Positions and Technical Interpretations version 3
- For data submissions on 2024 packaging placed on the market,please refer to: pEPR Agreed Positions and Technical Interpretations version 4
As mentioned above, Defra hosted a webinar in February 2024 outlining the changes to the data reporting requirements within the 2024 Amendment Regulations. Defra also summarised the changes within their Resources & Waste newsletter here.
Recyclability Labelling
Please find a new recyclability labelling under pEPR BTHA guidance document here.
Disposal fees
Unmodulated fees (year 1 of fees): Defra has still not published illustrative base fee rates, to support producers with budgeting. This first set of fees will be invoiced in October 2025, based on packaging placed on the market in 2024. The latest we have heard is that the illustrative base fee rates are currently in clearance, and must be approved before being published. The importance of these illustrative fees for budgeting purposes is continually reiterated to Defra.
Modulated fees (from year 2 onwards): fees invoiced in 2026, based on 2025 packaging placed on the market, will be ‘modulated’, meaning that some materials will attract a higher fee than other packaging materials as they are not recyclable. Defra have shortlisted 13 hard-to-recycle materials, though these are not confirmed as final. Defra will confirm them in due course. The shortlisted materials are:
- Plastic containing carbon black
- PVC inc. non- PVC with PVC components
- Some polystyrene HIPS, expanded & extruded
- Some plastic films e.g. multi-material
- Compostable and degradable plastics
- Non-polyolefin foamed plastics e.g. non-PP, non-PE
- High wet strength paper and card
- Some coated papers e.g. waxed, greaseproof
- Paper and card with too much* foil embossing (*To be defined)
- Some fibre-based composites e.g. PVC lined
- Glass with attached ceramics
- Some packaging in the ‘wood’ and ‘other’ category e.g. cork, ceramics, textiles
- Paper and card with double-sided lamination
We will provide an update when Defra confirm the materials selected for higher fees from 2026.
Summary of the evolution of disposal fees:
| Activity | 2025 | 2026 |
| Month fees are invoiced | October 2025 | June 2026 |
| Packaging the fees relates to | 2024 placed on market | 2025 placed on market |
| Data type | Standard data | Extended data |
| Modulation | Not modulated, base fee only | Modulated, potentially targeting 13 shortlisted materials.
(Fees will follow this structure and timeline in future years). |
If members have any questions on the new requirements, please get in contact with kerri@btha.co.uk
