Synopsis
These regulations will amend the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
Exemptions for charities have been clarified and new provisions will manage the transfer of obligations due to corporate mergers or changes in brand ownership.
Producers will also be able to offset fees for food-grade plastic packaging waste that is collected and recycled through a qualifying closed-loop system.
Summary
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will amend the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 on 1 January 2026.
This legislation will apply across the UK.
What will change?
Updated Definitions
Definitions within the regulations will be updated. Significantly, this included an updated definition of certain materials to ensure the system operates as intended:
Charity Exemption Scope Revision
Exemptions on charities are refined. This exemption will now only apply with respect to obligations on producers where these would otherwise apply to a charity.
Transfers of Obligations on Mergers and Transfers of Ownership
The regulations now include measures to address how obligations will be transferred in the event of corporate mergers or transfers of ownership of a brand or business.
Closed Loop Packaging Waste
Producers who send qualifying food grade plastic household packaging waste for closed loop recycling may now offset this against the weight of household packaging waste counted when determining producer disposal fees. Amendments made also require scheme administrators to take closed loop recycling data into account when determining whether packaging used reflects what is ‘reasonably necessary to fulfil its purpose.
Records must be kept by producers collecting and sending qualifying packaging waste for recycling and data must be reported by producers.
Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)
The amendments enable the introduction of a PRO, an independent, not-for-profit body intended to support the delivery of the extended producer responsibility for packaging.
Charges
Charges under Schedule 1 for producers, compliance schemes, the registration of producers and reprocessors and exporters are increased reflecting inflation.
Enforcement
The scheme administrator will gain powers to charge businesses that previously met producer thresholds but had failed to register, report required data or contribute to waste recycling costs. These powers aim to address unfair advantages that these businesses would otherwise have gained.
Further enforcement powers are also applied against pub operating companies and licensors that fail to meet their obligations under Schedule 10.
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