Packaging and packaging waste management

The way United Kingdom organisations responsible for packaging must carry out their recycling responsibilities has changed.

If you’re affected by extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, you will need to report your packaging data.

Does my business need to take action?

The regulations apply to all UK organisations that handle and supply packaging.

You need to collect and report packaging data if all the following apply:

• you’re an individual business, subsidiary or group (but not a charity)
• you have an annual turnover of £1 million or more (based on your most recent annual accounts)
• you’re responsible for over 25 tonnes of packaging in a calendar year (January to December)
• you carry out any of the packaging activities

Packaging activities

You may need to act if you do any of the following:

• supply packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand
• place goods into packaging that’s unbranded when it’s supplied
• import products in packaging
• own an online marketplace
• hire or loan out reusable packaging
• supply empty packaging

What you may need to do

You may need to:

• collect and report data on the packaging you supply or import
• pay a waste management fee
• pay scheme administrator costs
• pay a charge to the environmental regulator
• get packaging waste recycling notes (PRNs) or packaging waste export recycling notes (PERNs) to meet your recycling obligations
• report information about which nation in the UK packaging is supplied in and which nation in the UK packaging is discarded in – this is called ‘nation data’

What you need to do depends on whether you’re classed as a ‘small’ or ‘large’ organisation. This is based on:

• your annual turnover
• how much packaging you handle and supply each year

Find more information on EPR, including collecting and submitting your packaging data, fees and compliance schemes.