The Government is to exempt certain glass drinks containers from packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees from April 2027, while changing the fee structure in a move that could see charges reduced for recyclable materials and increased for some plastics.
The measures, announced by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle on 11 November, are intended to support the British glass industry and address concerns over the costs faced by pubs and hospitality businesses.
This comes after a reported meeting between Defra and glass industry figures earlier the same day.
Under the immediate changes, glass drinks containers supplied directly by producers to pubs, restaurants and other licensed hospitality venues will no longer be liable for EPR fees.
Defra said the move would address what it described as double charging for the same packaging, with savings of up to 6p per beer bottle and 10p per wine bottle.
The department estimated that a pub selling 10,000 beer bottles and 3,700 wine bottles annually could save up to £870 a year.
Fee changes
Alongside the exemption, the Government will consult on changes to the wider EPR fee structure, with the intention of making charges more closely reflect the recyclability of packaging.
Under the proposals, easily recyclable materials such as glass and paper could face lower fees, while harder-to-recycle packaging, including some plastics, could become more expensive.
Defra said the changes could reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
The Government intends to accelerate the introduction of higher fee multipliers for packaging rated red under its Recyclability Assessment Methodology, with the changes intended to fund lower charges for green-rated materials.
Defra also intends to update the cost model for glass to take account of revised evidence on the resale value of the material.
A call for evidence on the future of fee modulation is expected in early 2027, with the Government seeking views on how factors beyond recyclability could be reflected in future charges.
Industry response
The changes have been welcomed by British Glass, which has argued that the existing EPR arrangements do not adequately recognise the recyclability and circularity of glass packaging.
Nick Kirk, executive director of British Glass, said the announcement recognised the importance of the UK glass industry and would give manufacturers greater confidence.
He added that the measures could also benefit other recyclable materials, including metal and paper.
The British Beer and Pub Association also welcomed the move, although chief executive Emma McClarkin said it was important that leased and tenanted pubs were included in the changes.
She said around 12,000 publicans operating leased and tenanted pubs were small and medium-sized businesses and warned that more than a quarter of Britain’s pubs might not benefit equally from the exemption.
The British Soft Drinks Association described the removal of double charging for directly supplied drinks containers as a significant first step, but said further work was needed to address indirect supply to hospitality businesses.
Furnace closure
The announcement follows Ardagh Glass’s proposal to close a furnace at its Knottingley factory in West Yorkshire, with around 80 jobs potentially affected.
The company announced the proposal in October as part of a review of its manufacturing capacity, which also includes a furnace closure at its Holmegaard facility in Denmark.
The GMB union blamed the proposed Knottingley closure in significant part on the impact of EPR charges on the British bottling industry.
Matt Henderson-Thynne, GMB organiser, said: “It’s increasingly apparent that the Extended Producer Responsibility tax is killing the British bottling industry.
“These proposed job losses should be ringing alarms across Government. This isn’t just about Knottingley, it’s about the future of British industrial jobs.
“Ministers must now listen to the industry, the unions and think again on the packaging tax.”
The union also warned that generations of families depend on the jobs and that failure to review the packaging tax could threaten employment and the wider bottling industry.
Ardagh, meanwhile, cited reduced customer demand and surplus production capacity as reasons for its review of manufacturing operations.
The proposed closure has added to pressure on the Government to reconsider the way glass packaging is charged under EPR, with British Glass warning that the weight-based system risks encouraging businesses to switch towards lighter packaging materials and away from domestically manufactured glass.
Producer concerns
However, the proposed changes are likely to prove controversial among packaging producers, as further revisions to the fee structure create uncertainty over future compliance costs and investment decisions.
While glass and paper producers could benefit from lower charges, manufacturers using other materials, including some plastics, could face higher fees.
The changes also raise questions about how costs will be redistributed between materials and the extent to which producers will be expected to absorb higher charges.
The extent of any changes for individual materials will depend on the revised fee structure developed following the consultation, leaving producers waiting for greater clarity over how their costs will be affected.
Wider context
The proposals represent a further change to the Government’s packaging EPR arrangements, which require producers to contribute towards the costs of collecting and managing packaging waste.
Defra said the scheme had already provided £1.4bn to councils to support improvements to recycling services.
The Government said a separate call for evidence on ways to increase the reuse of packaging at scale would be launched in December.