Thu 24 Nov 2022 | by Rob Hutchins

EPR explained | Join the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility session with POC and Mike Swain

Products of Change will be hosting a special online session next month, exploring the latest in what we know about the government’s incoming Extended Producer Responsibility tax. Hosted by Products of Change’s Packaging and Materials expert, Mike Swain, the session will take an exploratory look at the new guidelines expected to come into force from January 2023 and what they mean for you. It will take place at 12noon on Wednesday, 7 December. Extended Producer Responsibility tax (EPR) will make producers significantly more responsible for the packaging – all packaging, whether it’s plastic, cardboard, or something else – at the end of its life. It will effectively shift the full cost of collecting household waste from the taxpayer to producers. The hope is that the policy will play a vital role in propelling a more circular economy for packaging in which reuse becomes the dominant solution. The session will offer a deeper dive into areas already covered by Products of Change and the Sustainability in Licensing Conference while underscoring the points that businesses will need to be aware of coming into the New Year.

• Producers will have an increased financial incentive to use packaging that is widely collected from households for recycling, as well as to increase recycled content in packaging.
• Additional data concerning packaging type and recyclability will need to be collected and reported every six months.
• Data reporting requirements will become more complex.
• The introduction of modulated fees could see producer compliance costs increase if you use hard of costly to recycle packaging.
• Reporting will need to be completed and aggregates for sales made in each of the devolved administrations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
• From 1 April 2026, all packaging (except for flexible films) will beed to display a binary recyclability label declaring either ‘recycle’ or ‘do not recycle’.

Similar legislation is being passed and introduced in Europe and measures in the US are expected to follow. Products of Change members can make sure you are as clued up as can be by registering to attend the online session on Wednesday, 7 December here.