Glass drinks containers supplied directly to pubs, restaurants and other licensed hospitality venues in the UK will be exempt from extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) fees, Defra has announced. The exemption is expected to apply to fees calculated from April 2027 for glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups.
The department said the decision followed industry concerns that certain businesses were effectively facing double charges on their recycling obligations, because they were covering both commercial waste service costs and pEPR fees.
How the fee regime works
The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to cover the cost of managing the recycling and treatment of packaging waste supplied to businesses and consumers. A review of fee structures was already under way, and the government said GBP 1.4bn had already been provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services.
Defra said businesses would also be consulted on the fees they pay for packaging waste, so that easy-to-recycle packaging such as glass and paper costs less while hard-to-recycle packaging such as some plastics costs more. According to the department, this could reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
The government said it remained committed to the principle that producers should contribute towards the cost of managing packaging waste and help reduce it, while recognising that pEPR must operate fairly and not disproportionately affect particular industries and hospitality businesses. Defra framed the exemption as an attempt to let the scheme support more sustainable business and consumer practices without undermining the overall case for extended producer responsibility.
Consultations and market engagement
Defra said it would launch a call for evidence in December on mechanisms to support scaled-up commitments for reusing packaging as a means of curbing waste and plastics use.
A separate market engagement is scheduled for early next year, when the pEPR administrator PackUK will seek feedback on the fees placed on manufacturers for covering the cost of treating packaging waste. The exercise is intended to establish how the system can more effectively encourage the use of materials that are easier to recycle.
Pressure on glass supply
The announcement also addressed market pressures on glass production and packaging, including two investigations launched by the independent Trade Remedies Authority into imported glass containers sourced from China and Turkey. Following a recommendation by the authority, a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September, and both investigations remain ongoing.
Industry response
Dame Angela Eagle, the UK environment secretary, said the decision had been taken in response to calls from the packaging and hospitality sectors over charges imposed on recyclable products, adding that the changes back the glass industry and pubs while ensuring everyone does their bit to reduce waste.
British Glass said the announcement was a welcome change in policy, but noted that the reforms would not take effect until the start of the third year of the pEPR regime, which runs from April 2027 to March 2028. Executive director Nick Kirk said the government had listened to concerns raised by glass manufacturers about appearing to penalise use of the material in packaging. He said the proposed changes begin to address some unintended consequences of pEPR and better recognise the environmental benefits of glass, and that a planned update to the glass material value, the proposed acceleration of modulation factors and a commitment to review future fee structures all move the system in a fairer direction. He also welcomed measures addressing glass packaging supplied to hospitality, while saying the full impact of the proposed exemption still needed to be understood.
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, described the announcement as a significant first step towards ensuring that drink containers used by the hospitality sector are not double-charged. He said soft drinks businesses take seriously their responsibility for recycling the packaging they place on the market, and that while a successful EPR scheme can raise recycling rates and cut waste, unfair allocation of costs undermines its effectiveness. The association said it looked forward to working with Defra on a solution for indirect supply that builds on the ratio-based approach announced.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction of travel would be warmly welcomed and that the measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain's brewers by tens of millions. She added that it was vital the 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs are also included, otherwise more than a quarter of Britain's pubs would not benefit equally from the change.
Further campaigning was expected from parts of the industry over how drinks in glass containers supplied indirectly via wholesalers are affected by pEPR fees.