BHETA has announced that it had made progress in its lobbying effort regarding the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, with a revised tariff level equivalent to an annual saving of £4.1 million for BHETA members.
Under the proposed EPR rules, branded product suppliers and own-label retailers will bear the full cost of household waste packaging. In other words, the proposed rules represent a shift in financial responsibility for the treatment of household waste and packaging, moving it 100% to suppliers and retailers.
Packaging producers affected and required to provide packaging data, including any business, subsidiary or group that is not a charity, with an annual turnover over £2 million and responsible for more than 50 tonnes of packaging in a calendar year, will receive their new EPR tax bill in October 2025.
Businesses with over £1 million turnover and responsible for 25 tonnes or more of packaging in a calendar year must report their detailed EPR data.
The reduction in tariffs announced by DEFRA includes a proposed 27% reduction in the Intermediate “Paper or Board” packaging charge and a 17% reduction in the Intermediate “Plastic” packaging charge. There’s also a proposed 33% reduction in the Intermediate “Glass” packaging charge.
Will Jones, BHETA’s Chief Operation Officer, commented: “The new reduced tax rates announced by DEFRA in September are a great first step and very much in the right direction, but it is only a first step.
Jones added that the cost increase for all product suppliers who use packaging is still “eyewatering”, rising to an annual £12.5 million from the current £1.7 million of packaging tax under the current Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) scheme. The figure was calculated based on BHETA's 17 random smaller members under the current PRN system and DEFRA’s indicative EPR rates published in August and revised in September.
“I welcome this news on tariff reduction, but the campaign is still very much on. The reality is that notwithstanding this welcome tariff reduction, UK suppliers will either have to pass costs up the supply chain to retailers and, ultimately, consumers, adding to pressure on inflation, or face being wiped out as no longer economically viable businesses," Jones added.
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