Political jostling or inflation: Who’s to blame for UK’s EPR deferment?

27 Jul 2023 --- The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is deferring the country’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) payments by 12-months from October 2024 to 2025 “in light of the pressure facing the consumers and businesses in the current economic context.”

Environment minister Rebecca Pow says the government is determined to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050 in a way “that works for households and consumers.”

“We are also listening to the industry and ensuring our work to tackle inflation and to drive up recycling go hand in hand to make sure our reforms will be a success,” she comments.

Packaging Insights last month sounded the alarm on the industry’s concerns about the timeline of EPR implementation. While the British Retail Consortium (BRC) had called the scheme “fundamentally flawed,” Ecosurety underscored that the UK was not ready to implement the full system due to serial delays within the government. 

Now that Defra has officially deferred the scheme, BRC’s Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability, shares with us that the government is right to extend the timeline as its plans are not ready. 

“Recycling rates have stagnated for a decade. If they are to rise, there must be better coordination of the government’s waste reforms so that there is consistency in how we recycle across the country,” states Opie. Lobbyists are using the cost-of-living crisis as a smokescreen, says North London Waste Authority chair.

“It’s also vital that the £2 billion (US$2.6 billion) EPR is expected to raise annually is targeted toward improving infrastructure to boost the supply of recycled material for reuse.”

The consortium further shares that it is waiting for more information about the next steps for EPR and what these mean for other waste management reforms. It hopes for clarity by the end of the week or early next week.

Disappointed but understanding
In a cabinet statement, Wales’ minister for climate change, Julie James, underscores that all four nations of the UK made the joint decision to defer the obligations under EPR for packaging payments. 

James listed that the additional time to prepare and adjust is expected to de-risk the scheme’s delivery as the “current delivery timelines are jeopardizing its feasibility and long-term value for money.”

“The revised timeline for packaging EPR will enable us to work with business, local authorities and wider stakeholders to further refine the scheme to ensure it will effectively deliver our shared environmental goals and help to place the sector on a clear pathway to decarbonization,” states James.

The delay has garnered mixed reactions from the industry. The underlying emotion across the board remains to be disappointment. Ecosurety’s policy director Robbie Staniforth remarks that while the decision to delay is sensible, it is “tinged with sadness for what could have been.”

“While civil servants have been working hard to meet the challenging timescales, there simply hasn’t been enough political will or strong leadership at pace from the senior politicians above,” slams Staniforth.

“It is a shame that five years after declaring an intention to introduce ‘full net costs’ under an EPR system, the government is still not ready. All the major stakeholder groups have devoted countless hours to help the government understand what is required.”

Cascading down other policies?
North London Waste Authority chair, Cllr Clyde Loakes, responds to the government’s announcement: “For more than four years now, we’ve been calling for an EPR system that gives money to councils and communities to fund waste prevention projects and more extensive recycling collections.”According to Valpack, the deferment offers an opportunity to effectively have a dry run of the EPR data collection process.

“It seems that for four years, the government has been listening to manufacturers who want to profit at the expense of the environment with unsustainable packaging and disposable products,” she continues. 

“Lobbyists are using the cost-of-living crisis as a smokescreen, saying that manufacturers can’t afford to be liable for disposal costs, but in their eyes, it's fine for the burden to fall on council taxpayers.”

Meanwhile, climate action NGO WRAP’s Claire Shrewsbury, director of innovation and change, also expressed frustrations with the delay, saying: “While we appreciate the complexities of introducing these changes, the announcement of a delay to the EPR packaging reforms is deeply frustrating given the climate crisis and the urgency to meet the UK’s net zero commitments.” 

“The further worry is that this delay will cascade down to implementing other policy reforms such as consistent collections of recycling and the ability to help tackle food waste,” she says. 

Miles Roberts, group chief executive at British multinational packaging business DS Smith, shares Shrewsbury’s concerns regarding recycling. “The lack of clarity on recycling reforms has done nothing to further the UK’s environmental ambitions, so we hope that the government uses this extra time to work with the industry to implement a robust and effective EPR scheme,” he stresses. 

“Producer payments under EPR could help fund better waste collection systems, such as the separate collection of materials, and get Britain back on track to meeting the government’s recycling rate targets. If we miss this opportunity to reinvest in the UK’s recycling system, EPR will be little more than a tax on businesses and, ultimately, consumers, which does nothing to support our transition to a circular economy.”

BRC hopes for clarity on next steps by the end of the week or early next week.Handling consumer pressures
Steve Gough, CEO at the UK’s largest compliance scheme, Reconomy brand Valpak, elaborates that the deferment offers an opportunity to effectively have a dry run of the EPR data collection process so that targets for 2025 can be set in the most appropriate manner.

“In the current economic climate, stakeholders face tough choices. With consumers under significant pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, both government and businesses are struggling to balance budgets against a commitment to progress with environmental improvements,” Gough says.

“EPR calls for data to be collected and prepared in a new format, and those which have not prepared will struggle to meet deadlines at short notice.”

“Companies in several sectors have been uncertain whether they need to register, particularly converters of packaging, franchisees and those in hospitality. But under the new delay, they will remain obligated under the previous system until the end of 2024.”

Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, reiterates that the deferment will provide the necessary time to work across industry and with the government in order to get EPR right first time. “This decision is also an important step in minimizing further pressure on food inflation and we will continue to focus on delivering the best value to customers in the coming months,” he concludes.

By Radhika Sikaria