Potential impact assessment: pEPR – emerging system design risks
Message from the FPA executive chair:
The FPA supports the objectives of Extended Producer Responsibility. Our members are compliant businesses that have registered, reported and paid their obligations in good faith.
Our concern is structural. If the full obligated producer population is not consistently captured within the scheme, costs risk concentrating on those who report correctly. In practice, that creates structural discrimination against compliant businesses and undermines confidence in the system.
The recent confirmation that government will close the Year 1 funding shortfall provides welcome short-term certainty. However, it also reinforces the importance of participation completeness and forward revenue resilience in future years.
Our focus is straightforward: fairness, transparency and a system that works as intended – delivering environmental outcomes without disadvantaging those who comply.
We remain committed to constructive engagement with policymakers and regulators to strengthen confidence in the integrity and financial robustness of pEPR.
Mike Revell
Public statement
The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) has written formally to Defra, PackUK and the Environment Agency to raise structural questions relating to participation completeness, revenue resilience and enforcement visibility within the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) framework. We have also brought the matter to the attention of Chris Bloore MP, chair of the APPG Group for the Packaging Manufacturing Industry.
This follows confirmation from PackUK that a funding shortfall was identified in Year 1 following revised tonnage submissions. Government has agreed to close this gap on a one-off basis, and disposal fees will remain as set out in producers’ Notices of Liability.
While this provides short-term stability, the FPA believes the episode underscores the importance of ensuring that the full obligated producer population is consistently captured within the scheme.
The association’s position is grounded in an analysis of Companies House incorporation data aligned with producer registration trends. Its findings are based on conservative inclusion criteria and focus on system-level design considerations rather than individual company compliance.
The FPA remains committed to constructive engagement with policymakers and regulators to ensure that environmental ambition is matched by fairness, transparency and financial robustness. In particular, we believe the system must avoid outcomes that inadvertently disadvantage compliant businesses through uneven application of obligations.
The association is also committed to ensuring pEPR operates fairly and effectively. If you are aware of information that may be relevant to participation completeness within the scheme, you may contact us in confidence by emailing compliance@foodservicepackaging.org.uk
Any information shared will be treated responsibly and, where appropriate, may be raised with the relevant authorities in line with our commitment to constructive engagement and confidentiality.
FPA members can access the full text of the letters and other related content within the FPA Member Hub.