British Glass expresses concern over EPR base fee announcement.
British Glass, the trade association representing the UK glass manufacturing industry, welcomes the release of the base fees for the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme announced today, but expresses strong disappointment in the structure of the fees. British Glass believe that the weight-related fee structure requires urgent and critical reassessment, as the fees in their current form are likely to have a severe detrimental impact on the glass industry.
Sheffield, 15 August 2024 – The EPR scheme aims to hold those placing packaging on the market accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, ensuring that considerations around disposal and recycling are implemented into product design. The newly introduced base fees, calculated based on the weight of packaging materials, place a disproportionate burden on the glass industry compared to other materials. These fees are much higher than expected, and British Glass fear implementation without revision could lead to significant job losses within the glass industry due to material switching.
Dr Nick Kirk, Technical Director at British Glass, responded to the release of the base fees: “British Glass will always support sustainable practices and the principles behind the EPR scheme. However, the weight-based fee structure fails to recognise the unique attributes and benefits of glass as a packaging material. Glass is 100% recyclable, can be recycled an infinite number of times without loss of quality, and has a low environmental impact in terms of chemical leaching due to its inert nature. We welcome the decision to adopt higher fees for lighter packaging materials, however, we urge Defra to go further by adopting a units-based approach to avoid jeopardising the glass industry; EPR in this current form is not a material-neutral policy.”
The introduced EPR base fees also unfairly impact glass when compared to other packaging materials such as plastic and aluminium. These materials are due to be part of the incoming DRS in October 2027 but will not be subject to EPR fees in the meantime, meaning they benefit from an additional 2 years without waste policy costs which will further incentivise material switching. British Glass therefore calls on the government to delay the introduction of EPR to keep in line with the introduction of DRS as originally intended, as this will restore some cost parity between glass and other beverage packaging materials.
There are also concerns surrounding the position of the Welsh government in implementing DRS including glass. Currently, producers would pay EPR fees in Wales up until DRS is introduced, whereas metal and plastic beverage packaging materials would be exempt.
Kirk continued “We urge the government and stakeholders to reconsider the fee structure of the EPR scheme in advance of the second set of illustrative base fees due to be published in September. Adopting a cost per-unit system will drive better environmental outcomes, as individual units of packaging impact the environment rather than the weight of packaging. Defra must avoid market distortion through EPR and develop a more equitable and competitive market for all packaging materials. We call on the government to consult packaging industries further on the EPR fees, and to delay the introduction of EPR in the meantime.”
British Glass remains committed to collaborating with the government, environmental groups, and industry partners to ensure the EPR scheme achieves its objectives without unfairly disadvantaging any sector.
