VIEWPOINT
PACKAGING: WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT ANYWAY?
Steve Sutton, Technical Manager at the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council talks DEFRA’s updated guidance on producer responsibility for packaging.
DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rual Affairs) has issued updated guidance on producer responsibility for packaging. With much of the equipment used in the UK heating and plumbing sectors imported and virtually all of it requiring packaging of some sort – whether large items such as boilers and heat pumps or smaller items such as pumps and controls – new guidelines regarding the extended responsibility for packaging from Government need careful consideration.
Steve Sutton, technical manager at Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, says: “This legislation applies to packaged goods and not just packaging. The regulations will apply to all UK organisations that import or supply packaging and not only packaging suppliers. “You need to collect and report packaging data if you’re an individual business, subsidiary or group, have an annual turnover of £1 million or more, or the organisation was responsible for more than 25 tonnes of packaging in 2022.
“You may need to act if any of the following applies – if you supply packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand, place goods into packaging, import packaging, own an online marketplace – such as a web site or app, hire or loan out reusable packaging – this would include pallets, or supply empty packaging.
“Some organisations that supply packaged goods to the UK market need to report ‘nation data’ relating to packaging used or sold in each of the UK countries.” Packaging is any material that is used to cover or protect goods that are sold to users. It makes handling and delivering goods easier and safer.
Sutton continues: “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 and 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 and how much packaging you supply or import each year.” Companies are classed as “small” if either your annual turnover is between £1 million and £2 million and you’re responsible for supplying or importing more than 25 tonnes of empty packaging or packaged goods in the UK, or if your annual turnover is over £1 million and you’re responsible for supplying or importing between 25 tonnes and 50 tonnes of empty packaging or packaged goods in the UK. You will be classed as a large organisation if you have an annual turnover of £2 million or more or if you’re responsible for supplying or importing more than 50 tonnes of empty packaging or packaged goods in the UK.
Sutton explains that annual turnover refers to the most recent annual accounts.
He continues: “If you’re a large organisation, to comply with the regulations, you may need to record data about the empty packaging and packaged goods you supply or import in the UK from either January 1 2023 or March 1 2023, create an account for your organisation, pay scheme administrator costs, pay a charge to the environmental regulator, get PRNs or PERNs to meet your recycling obligations and report data about empty packaging and packaged goods you supplied or imported.
“Your waste management fee will initially be calculated based on packaging you’ve reported as ‘household packaging’. The deadline for reporting depends on which nation your organisation is based in. If you miss the deadline, you may need to pay a late fee and you’ll need to report data every 6 months. You may also need to report nation data.” Some of the rules are changing for reporting data from 2024 onwards. Head for the DEFRA web site to make sure you have the correct information for this. Failure to do so may result in a fine. BMJ
Long Rake Spar qp BMJ
Sep24.indd 1 16
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2024
4/9/24 09:13
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