The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has responded to criticism from the glass industry after it published illustrative base fees for extended producer responsibility for packaging.
British Glass said the base fees in their current form are likely to have a “severe detrimental impact” on the glass industry and the weight-related fee structure requires “urgent and critical reassessment”.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said the illustrative base fees would add between 3p to 7p onto the cost of beer bottles which will “inevitably” lead to price increases.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Defra told Circular Online: “Extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) is a vital first step in cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy, and we have always been clear these fees are our initial estimates.
“In line with our collaborative approach to deliver pEPR, we are continuing to meet with the glass industry to discuss more workable approaches, including for how we calculate the cost of glass.”
In the announcement of the base fees, Defra specified that the methodology for calculating the fees for glass was still “under development”.
Defra said it did not apply the same methodology for all materials as it considered it to be “more robust” for glass.
The estimates were included to provide as much information as possible to producers, and to form the basis for ongoing engagement with industry in advance of the next release of illustrative base fees, Defra said.
Glass industry criticism
Responding to the release of the base fees, Dr Nick Kirk, Technical Director at British Glass, said: “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.
“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.”
British Glass, the representative body for the UK glass industry, said the illustrative base fees were “much higher” than expected and warned they could lead to significant job losses within the glass industry due to material switching.
The weight-based fee structure fails to recognise the unique attributes and benefits of glass as a packaging material.
The organisation also called on the government to delay the introduction of EPR until a deposit return scheme (DRS) is operational to restore some cost parity between glass and other beverage packaging materials.
Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The beer and pub sector has ambitious net zero targets, and our members are committed to working collaboratively to achieve circular economy goals.
“While these estimated fees provide long-overdue clarity, they sharply reinforce our concerns about the eye-watering additional costs brewers will be expected to bear from next year and impact on customers.”
What are the base fees for pEPR?
The table below shows illustrative pEPR base fee rates for glass packaging for 2025/26.
| Material | Lower (in £/tonne) | Intermediate (in £/tonne) | Higher (in £/tonne) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass | £130 | £260 | £330 |
Defra said glass fees were estimated using a separate methodology to determine local authority packaging waste management costs being developed by Defra, which will be used for the final EPR for packaging fees.
Defra said because of “significant limitations” it intends to publish refined figures for the illustrative base fees in September 2024 once more data has been reported and checked by regulators.
