Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach whereby a producer’s responsibility for packaging is extended to the post-use stage with the aims of:
2025 brings a new packaging data reporting requirement under packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR), for large producers placing household packaging or packaging that commonly ending up in public bins on the market: the recyclability assessment obligation.
The Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) has been developed by Defra for producers to assess the recyclability of the household, and public bin, packaging that is placed on the UK market.
The RAM will categorise packaging as either Red, Amber, or Green for recyclability which, alongside fee modulation, will ensure that producers trend towards packaging that can be recycled and transformed into new products, replacing virgin materials, and helping to support a circular packaging economy.
In June 2025 it was confirmed through an Environment Agency Regulatory Position Statement, that there will be a six-month respite for producers for reporting the output of their recyclability assessments.
Under the new pEPR Regulations, alongside Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs), obligated producers will be required to pay pEPR disposal fees on all their reported ‘household’ and ‘commonly ends up in public bins’ packaging. The modulation framework sets out the fees producers will pay based on the result of their packaging in alignment with the Recyclability Assessment Methodology.
The final iteration of disposal fees has now been published (June 2025) in relation to invoices due to be sent to relevant producers in October 2025.
These final confirmed fee rates are based on packaging data for the January-December 2024 period reported by UK producers (as of 9 June 2025, with adjustments made for missing inaccurate data – this represents the most accurate available packaging placed on market data) and Defra’s ‘Local Authority Packaging Cost and Performance’ model used previously.
By assessing the recyclability of their packaging, producers will assign each component a RAG output, to be reported in their bi-annual EPR submissions, which will determine the modulation of disposal fees:
Red (not collected from kerbside, or difficult to recycle at scale) = Higher Fees
Amber (faces challenges during recycling or affects the quality of recyclate) = No Modulation
Green (widely recyclable with current UK infrastructure) = Lower Fees
You will have to complete recyclability assessments if you are a large producer that supplies household, or public bin, packaging to the UK market. (Excluding drinks containers in scope of DRS)
Obligated producers will have to assess their packaging, or packaging components, and report the output alongside their packaging data bi-annually as part of their pEPR submissions.
Small producers aren’t obligated to complete recyclability assessments, but may be affected due to their suppliers having to complete assessments in their stead and being charged resultant costs.
Starting from 1 January 2025, producers will need to begin assessing their relevant packaging against the RAM.
January – June packaging data to be submitted to the regulator by 1 October
July – December packaging data to be submitted to the regulator by 1 April of the following year.
Disposal fee invoices will then be raised to producers in July (October 2025 for the first year of fees) with the option to pay in quarterly instalments.
Beyondly's comprehensive, bespoke Data Management service is more than 10 years established, enabling companies obligated under the packaging waste regulations, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), to save resource and ensure an accurate data submission to the regulator.
Our dedicated team can pick up as much or as little as you need, guiding you through the complexities of the regulations. With a keen eye for detail and technical expertise, our data experts will act as extension of your business, to thoroughly collect, manage, securely store, and analyse your data ready for submission to the regulator.
This tool is designed to help you estimate your Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) disposal fees. To begin, please enter the total weight (in kilograms) of all relevant packaging materials classified as ‘household packaging’ or packaging that typically ends up in public bins.
Keep in mind: drinks containers made of PET plastic, steel, or aluminium, which are expected to be covered by a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are exempt from disposal fee obligations and should not be included in your totals.
The calculator will automatically convert the weights you enter into tonnes and apply the appropriate fee rates by material to provide your estimated EPR disposal costs.
Please note this calculator is purely for estimative purposes and any fees due to be charged to producers will be raised by PackUK, the Scheme Administrator, following completion of pEPR submissions after the 1 April regulator deadline.
Effortless RAM compliance in one intuitive platform
We have developed an intuitive and user-friendly online tool to complete your recyclability assessment to determine a "red, amber, green" (RAG) status as per the government’s RAM stipulations. This is only available to Beyondly members, get in touch today to receive our demo video.
The outputs will ensure you can easily report the RAM assessment for household packaging within your twice yearly EPR data submissions to the regulator, from the first deadline for reporting RAM data; 1st October 2025. This report will cover packaging data from January 1st to June 30th, 2025. Large producers will be required to submit this data, while small producers are exempt.
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The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 are being reformed to a system of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The current producer responsibility system for packaging has operated since 1997, but it has never covered the full costs of the collection, sorting, and treatment of packaging waste.
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