DEFRA has published its response to consultations on reforms to
the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, announcing that
glass will not be in scope of the planned Deposit Return Scheme
in England and Northern Ireland.
The Government is consulting on reforming the UK’s extended
producer responsibility scheme to drive up the rates of packaging
waste recycling. Through the introduction of the proposals set
out in their EPR consultation and other environmental measures
like DRS, the Government is aiming to reach a total UK packaging
recycling rate of 78% by 2030, with the estimated recycling rates
for each material exceeding those set in the European Union, and
a minimum recycling rate for packaging that falls within the EPR
scheme of 73% by 2030.
In submissions to Government throughout the consultation process
on DRS, ACS has consistently called for the exclusion of glass in
the scheme due to the operational and health and safety issues
that it presents for retailers and colleagues.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Retailers in England and
Northern Ireland will be relieved that they won’t have to handle
the return of glass drinks containers as part of a Deposit Return
Scheme. All of the operational problems related to a Deposit
Return Scheme – colleague safety, storage, handling heavy waste
and breakages - are made much more acute by the inclusion of
glass.
“We are disappointed that retailers in Wales and Scotland will
have to face into these problems and bear the significant
financial and operational costs of doing so. Furthermore, having
different packaging types included in different parts of the UK
will be a nightmare for wholesalers and producers who will have
to make, store and distribute two versions of many products. We
hope that policy-makers in Wales and especially in Scotland,
where the scheme is due to come into effect in just over a year’s
time, will reconsider the impact of including glass in the
scheme.”
Elsewhere in the consultation, it was confirmed that
controversial plans for a mandatory take-back scheme for
disposable fibre-based composite cups (such as coffee cups) will
go ahead, with businesses that employ more than 10 FTE employees
required to comply by the start of 2024 and smaller businesses by
the end of 2025. The requirements include the provision of a
dedicated bin for the collection of cups, and for businesses to
report to regulators the tonnage they have placed on the
market/sent to recycling.
Mr Lowman said: “The introduction of a mandatory take-back scheme
for disposable cups with additional reporting requirements could
have a significant impact on convenience stores, especially when
many will be making major changes as a result of the introduction
of DRS. We are disappointed at the Government’s definition of
small businesses in this context, which is inconsistent with
other policy areas. We urge the Government to rethink its
proposals to include the smallest businesses in the reporting
requirements for this take-back scheme, and instead use the
success of the universal carrier bag charge as a model which does
not require small stores to report.”
As part of the wider proposals for EPR reform, packaging
producers will be made responsible for the cost of managing the
packaging that they place on the market – this is expected to be
around £1.7bn per year after previous estimates had put the cost
at £2.7bn per year. The cost of managing packaging waste
includes:
- The collecting, sorting and recycling of packaging waste from
households
- The collecting and disposing of packaging in the residual
waste stream from households only
- Litter and refuse management costs, including bin and ground
litter
The full Government consultation response is available
here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1063589/epr-consultation-government-response.pdf
