FPA call to the foodservice packaging sector

Over recent weeks, the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) has set out clear evidence that the current Packaging EPR system is creating unintended consequences for compliant UK businesses.

Our analysis highlighted a growing structural issue: a system that relies on self-registration and threshold exclusions, but where there is currently no reliable way to verify the full producer population. The result is a widening gap between those businesses that are visible, compliant and contributing – and those that are not readily visible within the system.

This is not about wrongdoing, it's about system design creating uneven outcomes, with the risk that compliant businesses, including many of our members, carry a disproportionate share of the cost burden.

We are now moving into the next phase of engagement.

Alongside our discussions with Defra, PackUK and regulators, it's essential that MPs understand the potential impact on businesses and jobs within their own constituencies.

MPs respond most strongly to issues that affect local employers.

We are therefore asking affected businesses to take a simple but important step:

Please write to your local MP to raise this issue.

You do not need to be an expert in EPR policy – we have created a briefing note to outline the issue and why it’s important. What matters most is explaining, in practical terms, how this may affect your business, your competitiveness, and your ability to invest and employ locally.

To support you, below are links to the following documents, :

• A list of constituencies where packaging employers are already known to be affected.
• A guide outlining how to go about contacting your MP.
• A short MP briefing note.
• A template letter you can use.

If you opt to write your own communication, we recommend focusing on:

• The risk of compliant businesses being placed at a competitive disadvantage.
• The lack of visibility and verifiability within the system.
• The potential impact on jobs, investment and local supply chains.

The FPA is asking MPs to support practical, proportionate steps, including:

• Independent verification of the EPR producer population.
• Buyer-facing tools to check compliance.
• A review of how thresholds are operating in practice.
• Greater transparency around enforcement and system coverage.

This is not about opposing EPR. The FPA and its members fully support the policy objectives. It is about ensuring the system is fair, enforceable, and economically sustainable.

Your voice as a local employer is far more powerful than any centralised representation we can make alone.

If you do contact your MP, we would be grateful if you could copy us in or let us know, so we can coordinate follow-up engagement.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mike Revell

Executive chair, the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA)