British Glass director: UK’s packaging EPR rules undermine circular economy

The UK’s packaging EPR (pEPR) unfairly penalizes glass, according to Nick Kirk, director at British Glass, who tells us that while the scheme claims to support circularity, it undermines environmental sustainability. We sit down with Kirk to discuss pEPR’s effect on the glass and the hospitality sectors.

“Without change, pEPR risks damaging a sector that supports thousands of jobs and offers truly circular, endlessly recyclable packaging. Government must act to fix these flaws before lasting harm is done,” says Kirk. 

The pEPR scheme is designed to shift the responsibility and cost of packaging waste management from taxpayers and local authorities to businesses that use and supply the packaging. The first EPR payments will be required between October and December this year. The UK’s pEPR is commonly referred to as a packaging tax.

But Kirk says that while this principle is “sound,” the implementation is “flawed” and ultimately, the cost will be passed onto the consumer. 

“The pEPR fees are calculated by weight, which disproportionately penalizes heavier materials like glass — despite its recyclability — while lighter, often less sustainable materials benefit. This will drive brands and retailers to the lightest packaging materials rather than the most recyclable.”

Metal and plastic containers are exempt from pEPR as they are due to be included in the delayed DRS, giving them an unfair advantage over glass, says Kirk. A weighty problem

Kirk says that the glass sector faces disadvantages compared to other packaging materials under pEPR.

“Glass accounts for less than 5% of packaging on the market by volume but bears around one-third of the £1.5 billion (~US$2 billion) in annual pEPR costs. This is due to the weight-based fee calculations that ignore how packaging is actually bought and collected — by units, not weight.”

“Metal and plastic containers are currently exempt from pEPR as they are due to be included in the delayed (until 2027) DRS, giving them an unfair financial advantage over glass for the next two and a half years — effectively a packaging tax break.”

Meanwhile, the UK glass industry is under increasing pressure from low-cost imports that can absorb pEPR costs. Kirk explains that the costs are passed on to consumers, with a 330 ml glass beer bottle now carrying an added cost of around £0.10 (US$0.13). 

“The UK’s 12 glass packaging production sites support a supply chain of over 120,000 jobs, but most UK manufacturers are foreign-owned and the UK must remain an attractive country for continued investment otherwise we will see a decline in UK manufactured glass with increasing imports,” he says. 

Kirk also stresses that the hospitality sector will suffer disproportionately, paying both commercial waste disposal charges and full pEPR fees for glass, while metal and plastic containers only incur commercial waste costs.

“This is pushing a shift to less sustainable alternatives in the hospitality sector.”

Tax undermines circularity

Plastic and metal beverage containers benefit from a temporary exemption from pEPR due to their future inclusion in the DRS, according to Kirk.

“This [exemption] has created a distorted market where these less sustainable materials enjoy a clear financial edge for the next two and a half years.”Kirk says the hospitality sector will suffer disproportionately from the tax, paying both commercial waste disposal charges and full pEPR fees for glass.

Furthermore, the structure of pEPR incentivizes a move away from glass to light, less recyclable, less sustainable, and less circular materials, while glass is a circular material that is “endlessly” recyclable and reusable.

“This [issue] undermines both environmental goals and efforts to promote circularity.”

Kirk urges the UK government to adjust the tax in four key ways:

• Switch from weight-based to unit-based fee calculations
• End the pEPR exemption for metal and plastic beverage containers until DRS is implemented
• Ensure fair pEPR enforcement in Wales, where there is no working DRS
• Ring-fence pEPR funds with local authorities to invest and improve recycling infrastructure, especially for glass.