Brands and businesses have been collecting recycling data for the last 12 months but how much will EPR cost?
In 2021, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that it will be introducing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework for packaging.
This means that costs incurred in the disposal of packaging will be paid by producers, moving the full cost of dealing with packaging waste away from local taxpayers and councils.
So, how much will EPR cost?
Earlier this month, DEFRA introduced illustrative base fees for the first year of EPR for packaging, outlining approximate fees you have to pay for the amount of packaging you throw away.
The costs cover eight types of packaging including aluminium, glass, steel and paper/ board. The figures give you a good baseline for what you may be expected to pay the Scheme Administrator (SA).
What are the current illustrative base fees?
How will these fees be refined?
The above approximate costs were calculated using weights of household packaging placed on the market in 2022. The data submitted by producers in the Report Packaging Data (RPD) online portal, where brands and businesses are tracking real packaging data, have not been used.
From September, DEFRA will be refining approximate costs once the data from the Government’s RPD online portal has been further reviewed and evaluated. So, they will be a better approximate for costs you will incur.
The British Beauty Council will keep you in the loop on these costs as and when they become available.
When will I know how much to pay?
It is important that you meet the deadline for reporting 6 months of 2024 household packaging data on the 1st October. This means you will be made aware of true incurred costs by April 2025.
You can find out more about EPR in this British Beauty Council article.
Read more about illustrative base fees here.
