Glass drinks containers supplied directly to pubs, restaurants and licensed hospitality venues in the UK are to be exempted from extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) fees next year, Defra has announced.
The exemption is expected to apply to fees calculated from April 2027 for glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups. Defra said the decision responded to industry concerns that certain businesses were effectively facing double charges on their recycling obligations, because they cover both commercial waste service costs and pEPR fees.
The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to cover the cost of managing the recycling and treatment of packaging waste supplied to businesses and consumers, and a review of fee structures was already under way.
Fee modulation and further consultation
Defra said businesses would also be consulted on the fees they pay for packaging waste, so that easy-to-recycle packaging such as glass and paper costs less and hard-to-recycle packaging such as some plastics costs more. According to the department, this could reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
The government said it remained committed to the principle that producers should contribute towards the cost of managing packaging waste, noting that £1.4bn had already been provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services. It added that pEPR must operate fairly and must not disproportionately affect some industries and hospitality businesses.
Defra also confirmed a call for evidence in December on mechanisms to support scaled-up commitments to reusing packaging as a means of curbing waste and plastics use. A separate market engagement scheduled for early next year will see the pEPR administrator PackUK seek feedback on the fees placed on manufacturers to cover treatment costs, with the aim of encouraging easier-to-recycle materials.
Trade remedy backdrop
The department presented the announcement as an attempt to address market pressures on glass production and packaging, including two investigations launched by the independent Trade Remedies Authority into imported glass containers from China and Turkey. A provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September following a recommendation from the authority, and both investigations remain ongoing.
Industry response
British Glass said the policy change was welcome but noted that the reforms would not take effect until the third year of the pEPR regime, running from April 2027 to March 2028. Executive director Nick Kirk said the proposed changes began to address some of the unintended consequences of pEPR and better recognised the environmental benefits of glass, pointing to the planned update to the glass material value, the proposed acceleration of modulation factors and the commitment to review future fee structures. He also welcomed plans for a market engagement exercise covering fee methodology and potential support for reuse.
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, described the announcement as a significant first step towards ensuring that drink containers used by the hospitality sector are not double-charged. He said soft drinks businesses take their responsibility for recycling packaging seriously and that a successful EPR scheme can increase recycling rates and reduce waste, but that unfair allocation of costs undermines its effectiveness. The association would work with Defra on a solution for indirect supply built on the ratio-based approach announced, he added.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction of travel would be warmly welcomed by pubs, but that the long-term cumulative impact of UK packaging policies had to be taken into account. She said the measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain's brewers by tens of millions of pounds, and that the 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs must also be included, otherwise more than a quarter of Britain's pubs would not benefit equally.
Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the decision had been taken in response to calls from the packaging and hospitality sectors about charges imposed on recyclable products, adding that the changes back the glass industry and pubs while making sure everyone does their bit to reduce waste.
Questions remain over glass containers supplied indirectly through wholesalers, where further campaigning by parts of the industry is expected.