The UK government has announced plans to exempt glass drink containers supplied to pubs, restaurants and licensed hospitality venues from packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) fees. Defra said the change is expected to apply to fees calculated from April 2027 for glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups.
The department said the decision responded to industry concerns that some businesses were effectively being charged twice for recycling obligations, through both commercial waste service costs and pEPR fees. The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to cover the cost of managing recycling and treatment of packaging waste supplied to businesses and consumers, and a review of fee structures was already under way.
Defra said it would also consult on packaging waste fees so that materials that are easy to recycle, such as glass and paper, cost less, while harder-to-recycle packaging, including some plastics, costs more. The department said this could reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% a year. It added that £1.4bn had already been provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services.
Reuse evidence and fee methodology
Further work is planned. Defra said it would launch a call for evidence in December on mechanisms to support scaled-up commitments to reuse packaging and curb waste and plastics use. Early next year, the pEPR administrator PackUK is due to hold a market engagement exercise seeking views on the fees placed on manufacturers to cover packaging waste treatment, including how to encourage more recyclable materials.
The government also linked the announcement to market pressures on glass production and packaging. It cited two investigations by the independent Trade Remedies Authority into imported glass containers from China and Turkey. A provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September following a TRA recommendation, and both investigations remain ongoing.
Industry welcomes direction but seeks detail
British Glass said the policy change was welcome but noted that the reforms would not take effect until the third year of the pEPR regime, running from April 2027 to March 2028. Nick Kirk, the group’s executive director, said the government had listened to glass manufacturers’ concerns about appearing to penalise the material’s use in packaging.
Kirk said the proposed changes began to address unintended consequences of pEPR and better recognised glass’s environmental benefits. He pointed to a planned update to the glass material value, a proposed acceleration of modulation factors and a commitment to review future fee structures as steps toward a fairer system. He also welcomed plans to examine fee methodology and support for reuse, while saying the full impact of the hospitality exemption still needed to be understood.
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, called the announcement a “significant first step” against double charging for drink containers used in hospitality. He said a successful EPR scheme could raise recycling rates and cut waste, but unfair cost allocation undermined its effectiveness, and he looked forward to working with Defra on indirect supply and the ratio-based approach announced.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction would bring relief to pubs. She said the measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain’s brewers by tens of millions of pounds, but argued that 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs must also be included, otherwise more than a quarter of Britain’s pubs would not benefit equally.
Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the decision responded to calls from the packaging and hospitality sectors over charges on recyclable products. “This government is committed to supporting British business and these changes back the glass industry and pubs while making sure we’re all doing our bit to reduce waste,” she said.