Questions and answers

We cover a range of other Q&A topics captured from the 30 May BRF. More Q&As from this session will be published as we work through them via future newsletter editions or in BRF events.

Question: Please can you provide clarity as to what classification companies with a turnover of more than one million and the packaging handled is more than 25 tonnes belong to? They currently sit outside the published definition of a small company. 

If they are not classified as a small company, please confirm if packaging supplied to such business is exempt from EPR data reporting and fees or otherwise how should this be treated? 

Answer: There is a small producer classification under the new EPR scheme, and the small producer is producer that has a turnover of greater than £1 million pounds per year, but less than two million pounds per year and handles between 25 tonnes and 50 tonnes of packaging.  

If you're in that category, you're a small producer and you carry data reporting obligation only you don't have recycling obligations and you wouldn't have a disposal fee obligation. 

Companies with less than £1,000,000 per year turnover and less and handling less than 25 tonnes of packaging, fall below the deminimis threshold, so would not have any direct obligations for fees or recycling obligations under the new regime. 

Question: When will the new recycle/don't recycle logo be required or allowed to be used? 

Answer: The requirement to label packaging using the recycle and do not recycle wording will be introduced through the new regulations. The new regulations will also state a date by which that labelling has to be on packaging.  

For all packaging except for plastic films and flexibles the logo will need to be applied by March 2026.  

For plastic films and flexibles, the requirement date is March 2027 and that's to coincide with when we expect all businesses and local authorities to have access to a recycling service for plastic films and flexibles. This requirement will be introduced from day one that the new regulations come into force, but there's very specific dates by which the labels need to be applied and that's to provide businesses with time to adapt and introduce the new labelling requirements. 

Question: Will the data submitted for EPR be used to calculate future PRN requirements and costs? 

Answer: Yes, it will be. The data you report under the data reporting regulations, and in future, the new EPR regulations, will be used to determine your disposal cost obligation. Your recycling obligation, if you have one, should be covered by obtaining PRNs/PERNs. 

Question: How does EPR fit in with the current PRN system in year one? 

Answer: 2024 is year one and will use the data on packaging supplied in 2023.  

Producers who are obligated for disposal costs fees will pay disposal costs fees in year one covering local authority costs for financial year 2024/25.  

They will also be subject to recycling obligations for year 2024. Largely, the current visions for recycling obligations and how the PRN system operates that set out under the 2007 regulations will be transferred into the new EPR regulations and will apply in much the same way as you do currently. 

2024 recycling obligations will be covered by the new regulations. 

Question: Regarding new labelling due in 2026, are we considering harmonising any new labelling in line with other EU countries, i.e., France, Italy, Germany? 

Answer: We're keeping track of what's happening in Europe, and particularly the Commission's proposals under the proposed packaging and packaging waste regulation.  

The underpinnings of principles to the UK proposals for the UK labelling scheme, as we understand it to be the case in the EU, is the collection and sorting arrangements in place in the different countries.  

On that basis our labelling scheme what we're proposing for the UK will not be the same as the scheme is being proposed in Europe because our underpinning collection infrastructure and sorting infrastructure is different. 

Question: Will the PRN requirements also be modulated? 

Answer: No, the PRN requirements will basically operate as now. The prices that producers pay for PRNs will be informed by the market. It's a market mechanism. They won't be modulated.  

Question: Why can't all packaging placed on the market be in scope while the business payments mechanism is worked out? 

Answer: In 2021, we consulted on the inclusion of business packaging within the sort of disposal cost fee requirements. We set out some options in the consultation and the feedback that we received concluded we needed to do more work on the options we put forward.  

We're starting with payments for household packaging and payments associated with local authority costs, but we did commit in the government response to continue to look at payments for business packaging and to review in 2026/27. 

Question: When should we stop paying our paying our PRNs so that there is no duplication of payment, especially around glass remelt? 

Answer: You won't stop paying your PRN. PRNs and recycling obligations apply to all packaging.

PRNs and recycling obligations will continue to apply to all packaging supplied, and the cost of the PRN contributes to the recycling cost of that packaging material. In addition, for any packaging that you report as household packaging, you will also pay the disposal cost fee and the disposal cost fee will cover the collection and the sorting and handling of household packaging. 

You won't be paying twice, you are prepaying disposal costs fees for household that relates to collection sorting handling of the packaging, and then the PRN costs will support the cost of recycling that material. 

Please encourage your colleagues to sign up to the CPR newsletter

Please click on the button to receive up to date CPR news