The UK Government will exempt glass drink containers supplied to pubs, restaurants and licensed hospitality venues from extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) fees, Defra has announced.
The department said the decision responded to industry concerns that some businesses were effectively being charged twice for their recycling obligations, paying both commercial waste service costs and pEPR fees. The exemption is expected to apply to fees calculated from April 2027 for glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups.
Background to the charge
The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to cover the cost of managing the recycling and treatment of packaging waste placed on the market. A review of fee structures was already under way when the government decided to address the concerns raised by the British glass packaging industry directly, and it said it would hold further market engagement on how the regime is managed.
Defra said businesses would also be consulted on the fees they pay for packaging waste, so that easy-to-recycle materials such as glass and paper cost less while hard-to-recycle packaging, including some plastics, costs more. It said this could cut fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
The exemption is understood to recognise the risk that some hospitality groups face a "double charge" when funding collection and disposal services. Further campaigning is expected from parts of the industry over how drinks in glass containers supplied indirectly through wholesalers are treated under pEPR.
Fairness and funding
Defra said the announcement was intended to ensure pEPR supports more sustainable business and consumer practices without undermining the case for extended producer responsibility. "The Government remains committed to the principle that producers should contribute towards the costs of managing packaging waste and help reduce it, with £1.4bn already provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services," it stated, adding that pEPR must operate fairly and not disproportionately affect particular industries and hospitality businesses.
Consultations and trade measures
Defra said it would launch a call for evidence in December on mechanisms to support scaled-up commitments to reuse packaging as a way of curbing waste and plastics use. A separate market engagement early next year will see the pEPR administrator, PackUK, seek feedback on the fees placed on manufacturers, with the aim of encouraging easier-to-recycle materials.
The department linked the announcement to market pressure on glass production and packaging, including two investigations by the independent Trade Remedies Authority into imported glass containers from China and Turkey. Following a recommendation from the authority, a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September, and both investigations remain ongoing.
Industry reaction
Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the decision was taken in response to calls from the packaging and hospitality sectors over charges on recyclable products. "This government is committed to supporting British business and these changes back the glass industry and pubs while making sure we're all doing our bit to reduce waste," she said.
British Glass said the change was welcome but noted that the reforms would not take effect until the start of the third year of the pEPR regime, running from April 2027 to March 2028. Executive director Nick Kirk said the government had listened to glass manufacturers' concerns about appearing to penalise use of the material. He cited a planned update to the glass material value, a proposed acceleration of modulation factors and a commitment to review future fee structures as moves in a fairer direction, and welcomed measures covering glass supplied to hospitality while saying the full impact still needed to be understood.
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, called the announcement a "significant first step" against double-charging of containers used by hospitality. He said soft drinks businesses take responsibility for recycling seriously and a successful EPR scheme can raise recycling rates, but unfair allocation of costs undermines it, adding that the association would work with Defra on a solution for indirect supply building on the ratio-based approach.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction of travel would be welcomed by pubs but that the long-term cumulative impact of UK packaging policy must be considered. She said the measures could reduce cost pressures on brewers by tens of millions of pounds, and that the 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs must be included, otherwise more than a quarter of Britain's pubs would not benefit equally.