Launch of draft EPR regulations consultation

Today (Friday 28 July 2023) the government launched a consultation on the draft regulations which will implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging across the UK.

The consultation is UK-wide and will run from Friday 28 July to Monday 9 October 2023. Its purpose is to test the clarity of the obligations created in the regulations and test their operability. These regulations implement the approach set out in the government’s March 2022 EPR consultation response.

Specifically, the consultation seeks views on the clarity with which the draft regulations define the responsibilities of obligated producers, exporters, reprocessors, compliance schemes, waste management sector, local authorities and councils, the scheme administrator, and the regulators - identifying any ambiguities in the text that could be improved.

As the overall policy intention and objectives have already been the subject of consultation, the purpose of this exercise is not to consult on these matters. There are, however, several areas that we intend to develop further with businesses and stakeholders from the collection and packaging sectors with a view to potential future reforms.

This includes issues such as ownership of packaging materials as they pass through collection, sorting and reprocessing and packaging re-use policy and payments for the management of business waste. These are outside the scope of the current draft regulations as they are not deliverable prior to the introduction of the initial reforms, but we welcome input on these matters to inform regulatory, policy and delivery options.

The consultation is open to all but we are particularly keen to hear from:

• Businesses involved in the design, production and specification of packaging
• Businesses who manufacture products and put these products into packaging, or who have products put into packaging on their behalf, and who place these products on the UK market
• Retailers, online marketplaces and importers of both packaged products and unfilled packaging
• Local authorities
• Packaging compliance schemes
• Organisations involved in the management and recycling of packaging waste including waste management companies, brokers, exporters, and reprocessors
• Other organisations such as professional and membership organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, consultants, and charitable organisations who have an interest in packaging and how packaging waste is managed in the UK.

Following consultation, Defra and the Devolved Administrations will review the responses and make changes to the draft regulations as appropriate. After this, the draft regulations will be notified to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Union (EU) in respect of Northern Ireland to comply with international obligations. During the notification period, we will publish a summary of the responses.

You can take part in the consultation online using Defra’s Citizen Space consultation hub.

For ease of analysis, responses via the Citizen Space platform would be preferred, but alternative options are provided below if required:

• By email
• In writing to:

Collection and Packaging Reforms
Extended Producer Responsibility Team
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

You can also join the next Business Readiness Forum on Tuesday 1 August 2023, 10am to 12pm. Please click here to register for the forum.