GovWire

If youre an organisation that supplies packaging to consumers and businesses in the UK, you may have to take action to comply with extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging.

You may need to collect and submit data about packaging youve supplied through the UK market, or any filled packaging you have imported and discarded in the UK.

Find out if you need to collect and report your packaging data.

You may also have to report data about which country in the UK packaging is supplied in and which country in the UK packaging is discarded in. This is called nation data.

Find out if you need to submit nation data.

Guidance on how to submit nation data will be published separately.

When you need to take action

For organisations in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland if you have to take action, you must start collecting the correct packaging data from 1 March 2023.

For organisations in Wales there will be an additional option to start collecting data from 17 July 2023, the date the regulations came into force in Wales.

Find out how to collect your packaging data for EPR.

Large organisations need to submit data every 6 months. Small organisations submit data once a year.

Find out if you are a small or large organisation for EPR for packaging.

Deadlines for reporting packaging data

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• small organisations should submit by 1 April 2024
• large organisations reporting for January to June 2023 should submit by 1 October 2023
• large organisations reporting for July to December 2023 should submit by 1 April 2024

These deadlines are laid out in the regulations. You should make your best effort to meet them but no enforcement action will be taken if data is submitted by 31 May 2024.

In Wales, large and small organisations should submit by 1 April 2024.

What this guidance covers

This guidance is for:

• organisations that need to collect and submit data about packaging theyve supplied or imported through the UK market
• compliance schemes who report packaging data for their member organisations

It explains:

• the different types of data youll need to submit about packaging youve supplied
• how to structure your data submission file
• the codes you should use in your data file

Help making your file

If you need help creating a packaging data CSV, you can use the generate a packaging data file tool to:

• generate a valid packaging data file
• check how your file should be structured before creating one yourself

Example of a packaging data file

You can also use the example packaging data file to see how you should structure your data submission.

How to submit your data

Submit your data using the report packaging data service.

Get help and give feedback

If you have any questions, email the packaging team at pEPR@defra.gov.uk.

Tell us what you think

You can give feedback about this guidance and the rest of the EPR guidance - let us know if anything is unclear or incorrect.