GovWire

The way UK organisations responsible for packaging must carry out their recycling responsibilities has changed.

If youre affected by extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, you may need to report your packaging data from 2023 onward, and in the future pay fees based on your data .

Check if you need to take action

The regulations will apply to all obligated UK organisations that import or supply packaging.

You need to collect and report packaging data if all the following apply:

• youre an individual business, subsidiary or group (but not a charity)
• you have an annual turnover of 1 million or more, based on your most recent annual accounts up to 7 April
• you were responsible for importing or supplying more than 25 tonnes of packaging to the UK market in 2022
• you carry out any of the packaging activities

If this guidance says you may need to take action, check the rest of the guidance on packaging data - this will help you confirm whether you must record and submit your data, and what you must submit.

Packaging definition

Packaging is any material that is used to cover or protect goods that are supplied. It makes handling and delivering goods easier and safer. It includes anything thats designed to be filled at the point of sale, such as a coffee cup.

Packaging also makes goods look appealing for sale and may display a companys logo or brand. Goods could include raw materials or manufactured items.

There are detailed illustrations and examples in the agreed positions and technical interpretations guidance, produced by the environmental regulators.

There are 2 versions of this document, both stored on the National Packaging Waste Database:

• for data submissions for 2023, check version 3
• for data submissions from 2024 onwards, check version 4

Packaging activities

You may need to act if you do any of the following:

• supply packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand
• place goods into packaging
• import products in packaging
• own an online marketplace
• hire or loan out reusable packaging
• supply empty packaging

Organisations that supply packaged goods to end users in the UK may need to collect nation data. You can find out more about this in the check if you need to report nation data section.

Supplying goods to the UK market under your own brand

You may need to take action if packaged goods labelled with your own brand are supplied to the UK market. A brand includes any of the following:

• a name
• a trademark
• any distinguishing mark

You may also need to take action if you pay or license another company to do any of the following for you:

• produce branded packaged goods that will be sold under your brand name
• pack branded packaged goods that will be sold under your brand name
• place your branded packaged goods on the UK market
• import branded packaged goods for you

Placing goods into packaging

If you place goods into packaging you may need to take action. This could be goods you packaged for your own organisation or for another organisation.

Importing products in packaging

You may need to take action if your organisation imports products from outside the UK that are in packaging and goes on to supply these products to the UK market.

You may need to take action if you sell imported goods that are packed or filled by a UK third party on behalf of a company that is not established in the UK.

You may need to take action even if you discard packaging before selling the goods.

You do not need to take action if you import filled packaging that is:

• branded, and youve imported it on behalf of a brand owner that is established in the UK
• unbranded, and you go on to supply it to a large organisation that applies its brand before supplying it on

The check if youre a large or small organisation section explains which organisations are classed as large.

You can check a list of large producers who have submitted data to the regulators. The list will be regularly updated.

Owning an online marketplace

Under EPR for packaging, youre classed as carrying out the owning an online marketplace activity if you operate a website or app that allows non-UK businesses to sell their goods into the UK. If you own an online marketplace, you may need to take action.

If your organisation owns a website or app that sells goods from UK organisations only, this is not classed as carrying out the owning an online marketplace activity. However, you should check if you carry out any of the other packaging activities.

Hiring or loaning out reusable packaging

If you hire or loan out reusable packaging, you may need to take action.

Supplying empty packaging

You may need to take action if you manufacture or import empty packaging and then supply it to a business that is not classed as a large organisation, or supply this packaging to a large producer that does not fill the packaging.

You can find out what the criteria are for a large organisation in the check if youre a large or small organisation section.

What you may need to do

You may need to:

• collect and report data on the packaging you supply or import
• pay a waste management fee
• pay scheme administrator costs
• pay a charge to the environmental regulator
• get packaging waste recycling notes (PRNs) or packaging waste export recycling notes (PERNs) to meet your recycling obligations
• report information about which nation in the UK packaging is supplied in and which nation in the UK packaging is discarded in this is called nation data

What you need to do depends on whether youre classed as a small or large organisation. This is based on:

• your annual turnover
• how much packaging you supply or import each year

Check if youre a large or small organisation

Youre classed as a small organisation if either of the following apply:

• your annual turnover is between 1 million and 2 million and youre responsible for supplying or importing more than 25 tonnes of packaging in the UK
• your annual turnover is over 1 million and youre responsible
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