Will local authorities spend your EPR money on packaging waste management?

Surely we should expect funds raised by packaging EPR fees and distributed to local authorities to all be spent on packaging waste management by those authorities – that would seem fair and honest. However, throughout its development the views of the packaging supply chain regarding whether funds will be earmarked this way have been highly cyclical to say the least. It is therefore pleasing, and a little more reassuring, to read in Defra’s letter announcing the EPR fees, of a major push by Defra to ensure this money is spent by local authorities in the correct way and used to increase packaging recycling rates. 

In her letter, Defra Director of Circular Economy Emma Bourne writes: "In relation to the use of the EPR payments, we have been clear across the four nations that the EPR payments are being introduced in order to meet the costs associated with the efficient and effective management of packaging waste by local authorities, recognising the specific legal purposes for which these payments are being introduced. We recognise it is important that producers have confidence that the investment made via pEPR will be focused on delivering the outcomes intended. When local authority payment allocations are confirmed in July, PackUK will write directly to local authority chief executives establishing clear accountability measures”.

The letter goes onto say that “in England, the Secretary of State ... has instructed PackUK to exercise its existing powers within the pEPR regulations to ensure local authorities in England only receive pEPR funds that are spent on household packaging waste management and recycling”, and “if an English local authority does not spend the funds as specified, PackUK will then use its existing regulatory powers to deduct funds accordingly for the following year’s payment”.

This should be music to the ears of many, including the Food and Drink Federation, that have called for EPR funds to be earmarked for their intended purposes of paying the net costs (after recycled material revenue) of the waste management of packaging. However, the sweet music of these words is perhaps not so sweet. According to a 2019 report by PwC, local authorities allocate 11% of their council tax revenue to environmental services, which apart from packaging and non-packaging waste management includes road sweeping, recycling centre facilities and litter bins, so of their environmental services budget, 40% is allocated to waste management, of which packaging is a smaller part. 

Almost 60% of council tax is accounted for by adult and child social care and public health, but nonetheless packaging waste management still accounts for part of the council tax we all pay, albeit a minor component. 

Assuming the pressure of the law means councils allocate the funds only to packaging waste management, and only packaging is placed in kerbside recycling bins, then as council tax bills continue to increase will the money councils receive be added to their existing allocation for packaging waste management to achieve improvements, or will the current allocation be allocated to their key priorities? It would certainly come as a surprise to find many councils adding their EPR windfall to their packaging waste management pot, and Defra did announce we would see no improvement to recycling rates until after 2030. At least we shouldn’t see a reduction in council spending on packaging waste management, and to achieve that packaging companies have to spend huge amounts of administration and money to comply with an absurdly complex EPR system.

How EPR fees are calculated

Yesterday’s Defra PackUK webinar on base fees included some very informative and helpful slides. The basic calculation for working out base fees should known to most, but for the record:

So the key question is how are the costs of managing local authority packaging waste calculated? In answer:

If read slowly the chart makes sense, but a stinger for all those who have spent the last 20 years and more light weighting packaging is the comment on the right hand side on dry recycling. When looking at the hugely high fee for fibre-based composites PackUK states denser materials have lower collection costs in kerbside dry recycling as is very well explained in this chart, which maps the percentage breakdown by material of total local authority costs against each material’s share of the packaging placed on market tonnage: 

If read slowly the chart makes sense, but a stinger for all those who have spent the last 20 years and more light weighting packaging is the comment on the right hand side on dry recycling. When looking at the hugely high fee for fibre-based composites PackUK states denser materials have lower collection costs in kerbside dry recycling as is very well explained in this chart, which maps the percentage breakdown by material of total local authority costs against each material’s share of the packaging placed on market tonnage: 

Women in Packaging Excellence Awards

In a superbly organised Awards event held last night at Bankside, London, FPA members hugely triumphed.

Hosted by 400 metres gold medalist Sally Gunnel this was a fantastic night for UK packaging’s women and served as a very fitting showcase. 

Winners:

Alexander Burgess – Coveris

Joanne Scrimshaw – Coveris

Jennifer Birley – EasyFairs

Ruth Price – Faerch (two awards)

Joanne Scrimshaw – Coveris

Frances Dickman – Head of Compliance, Colpac

Ruth Price – Faerch

Talia Goldman – Colpac

Bona Jrijgsman – Easyfairs Packaging Council

And receiving Highly Commended:

Pip Gorringe – Zeus Packaging Group

Emma Britee Steer – Head of Business Development, Vegware

Lisa Cain – Smurfit Westrock

Kate Berry – Colpac

Abigail Sawyer-Parker – ProAmpac

Clover Walton – Faerch

Congratulations to Packaging News for organising a truly great event, and even bigger congratulations to all the FPA woman members who entered, representing foodservice packaging so brilliantly. 

Wales and DRS

Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh Cabinet Secretary For Climate Change And Rural Affairs has announced an update on the Welsh DRS. Mr Irranca-Davies sets out Wales’ desire to be consistent with a UK-wide approach, but says there isn’t a single approach that will work for the whole of the UK – a situation that stems, so he says, from the previous government departing from including glass in DRS. No reference is made to the current government, which continues the policy – to be expected given party affiliations. 

Wales has therefore agreed to accelerate its DRS timetable to coincide with the UK but, in the name of encouraging reuse, glass remains in its scheme.

Deposit Management Organisation newsletter

For those wishing to keep up to date with developments on the Deposit Return System you can now subscribe to a newsletter via this link

And the National Wholesaler of the Year Award goes to ... 

 ... Brakes – with many congratulations on their triumph in winning National Wholesaler of the Year at The Grocer Gold Awards at the Albert Hall on Tuesday.

Tell us what you'd like to see discussed at the FPA's Environment Seminar 

The FPA’s annual Environment Seminar is taking place on Wednesday 29 October at Stationers’ Hall, St Paul’s. As in previous years the seminar will feature a wide range of subjects and speakers and give members the opportunity to hear from, and question, representatives from government, packaging, environment and hospitality. Details will be announced over the coming months.

Apart from asking you to and your colleagues to hold the date, we also ask you to let us know the subjects and issues you would like to be covered by responding to a short survey via the button below before Friday 9 July.

Our thanks to all those who have already responded.

New member welcome

A warm FPA welcome to Fenton Packaging Solutions, who have joined the association as a single-site distributor member.

FPA in the news 

Ends Report: Comment from executive director Martin Kersh in this report:
Revealed: the spiralling multi-million costs underpinning DEFRA's 'landmark' EPR waste reforms – and the 'tensions' it is creating with regulators.

Essential reading 

Lumina Intelligence: Channel Spotlight: UK Eating Out Market – Q1 2025 (sample report). Download here

Scottish Government: Single-use Disposable Cups Charge Advisory Group Meeting. Read the minutes here

Packaging Scotland: Nestlé to use AI to help develop more sustainable packaging. Read more here

New Food: Nestlé and IBM harness AI to develop sustainable food packaging solutions. Read more here

The Grocer: CMA launches investigation into Greencore-Bakkavor merger. Read more here