PACKAGING
EPR EXPLAINED: WHAT THE POLICY MEANS FOR YOUR BUSINESS IN 2023
David Meehan, General Manager of sustainable waste management company Biffa’s compliance team, Biffpack, takes you through what Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) means for your business in 2023.
B
eing introduced in the UK in 2024, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy holding
producers responsible for the collection, sorting, recycling, or disposal of their product packaging. Introducing this new policy means it will soon be down to businesses to fund the total cost of managing their household product packaging from production to disposal. Household packaging is defined as anything that
may be removed from a household, including large bulky packaging from white goods in addition to smaller everyday grocery packaging. The policy - designed to transfer the annual £1.7bn financial burden of household packaging waste collection from taxpayers to producers - aims to generate accountability across waste streams, plus encourage and empower brands to think more sustainably about their packaging life- cycle post-purchase. Where historically, the responsibility has sat
with a small group of around 8000 compliant producers, now the responsibility will be spread further to include a greater number of smaller producers. Biffa recognises the potential for EPR to help businesses better engage with a circular economy (where waste is recovered, recycled or
regenerated in a closed loop).
WHICH BUSINESSES ARE IMPACTED? Any business that handles over 25 tonnes of
packaging in a year will be affected by EPR legislation. Whether your business purchases packaging for products or you are producing packaging to sell to other businesses, if you handle over 25 tonnes per year, you are identified as a ‘producer’ and must act now. ‘Producers’ include:
Brand owners – who sell packaged goods under
their brand name. When a brand isn’t identifiable, the responsibility lies with the business responsible for packing or filling the packaging Importers – who import packaged products into
the UK Service providers – who hire out or lend reusable
packaging (such as supermarket crates) Distributors – who manufacture or import empty
packaging and sell that packaging to UK businesses (not already obligated as a producer) Online marketplaces – that operate a marketplace whereby non-UK sellers can sell packaged products or empty packaging to UK consumers
Sellers – who sell packaged products or
packaging to the end-user All charities are exempt, even if they sell
packaged products (such as boxes of Christmas cards) in-store or online. There are many scenarios that exist within
these definitions, and the impact on businesses will vary. That’s why the packaging compliance experts at Biffpack are working with businesses to ensure compliance is met. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has also released an online obligation checker to help businesses understand if they are affected by the new legislation.
HOW BUSINESSES WILL BE AFFECTED The scheme is set to impact smaller and bigger businesses differently. Smaller organisations with a turnover between £1 million and £2 million and handling 25-50 tonnes of packaging in a calendar year will have to provide detailed reporting on the packaging they produce and how the waste will be managed. Larger businesses with a turnover above £2 million handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year will have to cover the cost
32 MARCH 2023 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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