The government’s new recycling body PackUK has been forced to rush out changes to its flagship extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme in a bid to prevent red tape chaos ahead of the launch in October.
PackUK this week released a hurriedly updated version of the controversial new traffic light system. It will dictate how much producers are charged for household packaging once EPR begins charging different rates depending on how easy packaging is to recycle, to reimburse local authorities for the cost of collection.
EPR complexity
In February The Grocer revealed there was widespread anger and confusion among manufacturers and supermarkets at the complexity of the so-called recyclability assessment methodology (RAM) unveiled by Defra in December. It meant some supermarkets would be expected to answer more than three million questions about the irreconcilability of their products.
Amid warnings of a bureaucratic nightmare for companies, PackUK, the body which launched in January, this week unveiled an updated version of the RAM. It said it aimed to “simplify” the system and make it more realistic for producers to hit the October deadline for reporting information on their products’ packaging. So-called “modulated” charges dependent on the traffic light ratings are due to come into force from October 2026.
PackUK said the outcome of the “simplification sprint” had meant various elements of the RAM had been clarified or simplified to cut red tape or complexity. The RAM is set to apply to all large producers with an annual turnover of £2m or which are responsible for supplying or importing more than 50 tonnes of packaging into the UK per year.
One of the main changes in the new version of the RAM is the expansion of exemptions for containers covered by deposit return schemes, with the UK government set to roll out its DRS in October 2027 and alternative plans underway in Wales.
It exempts all single-use drink container packaging within the scope of planned DRS initiatives, regardless of material type, and also accommodates potential divergence in DRS implementation across the UK, to take into account Wales’ intention to include glass in its scheme.
The traffic light system
PackUK’s Version 1.1 of the RAM has also scrapped a raft of red and amber classifications in the system.
Under the RAM, products that are difficult to recycle at scale will be graded red, those with challenges amber, and those that are widely recyclable green, with the rules set to apply to any product that has gone on the market since 1 January this year.
Examples include the removal of ‘red’ classification for paper and cardboard packaging containing retained product residue that could not be removed by hand.
The new guidance now suggests minor surface staining or crumbs are generally acceptable.
There are also changes to fibre-based composite packaging, with the removal of ‘red’ classifications for retained product residue. The ‘red’ classification for the presence of carbon black pigment in inks and labels covering more than half of the total surface area has also been binned.
Robbie Staniforth, innovation and policy director at Ecosurety, welcomed the changes but said they had come far too late, leaving large companies with a major bureaucratic task if they were to meet the deadline for submitting data.
“It is pleasing to see the methodology has finally been released after years of discussion about recyclability,” he said. “The team at PackUK have been working at some pace to complete and publish this work after years of delays by previous governments.
“While it is helpful to have the clarity that this publication provides, those delays earlier in the process will mean packaging producers have a tough task ahead to rate each of their household items by this October.”
“The traffic light system has been the source of a lot of concern from producers because of the complexity,” added John Redmayne, MD of compliance body the European Recycling Platform.
“The changes announced this week simplify things to a certain extent but not massively.
“It’s really important that they get this right because modulation is such a major compenent of getting a successful EPR system in place.”
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