Ready for change – reducing costs under pEPR

With EPR for Packaging now in place, the requirement for data submission is key. Ruth Beckley, Director of Customer Service and Compliance at the UK’s largest compliance scheme, Valpak by Reconomy, explains how clever use of data can help brands tackle rising costs.

Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) is here. If, by any chance, you are hearing about the legislation for the first time, there is already a lot of catching up to do. For everyone else – there is probably still a lot of catching up to do.

Packaging EPR for the UK came into force in January. It affects small and large businesses; only those with a turnover of less than £1 million, or those handling less than 25 tonnes of packaging, are exempt. The data requirements alone place a greater burden on businesses, as the volume of data required expands and reporting deadlines rise from once-yearly to bi-annual. The legislation is set to affect budgets, staff time, labelling and packaging design.

We already have one reporting deadline under our belts, and the next, in April, is fast approaching. The first fees will be charged in October 2025. The costs for some businesses will increase up to 11-fold and, from 2026, eco-modulation will place a higher charge on non-recyclable packaging.

Valpak is the largest compliance scheme in the UK. In partnership with WRAP, and with the help of our packaging weight database, which holds over 50 million stock-keeping units from thousands of suppliers around the globe, we also produce the UK’s only comprehensive packaging data resource – the PackFlow report series.

Last year, our teams responded to an unprecedented 19,000 queries from businesses looking for advice on how to deal with the complexity of data reporting, or for ways to reduce the cost burden. This is not surprising when you consider that pEPR data reporting calls for an entirely new set of metrics. While brands and importers take on liability for the fees, non-fee-paying businesses are still required to report on the volume of materials sold into the four UK nations.

The challenge for those obligated is to physically source data on packaging weights, materials and recyclability and enter it in the right format. Often, packaging suppliers are based abroad. Valpak’s Product Data Hub, which records data for pEPR, includes automatic checks similar to those found in online banking. While the majority of users are based in Europe, over 1,600 hail from the Americas, and more than 1,100 from Asia.

As increasing numbers input their data, we gain a clearer picture of the volume and composition of UK packaging. This helps Defra to refine the estimated fees. The full cost of collecting, sorting and recycling is based on this information so, aside from the important legislative requirement to comply, the more brands that submit data, the fairer the distribution of cost will be.

Once eco-modulation begins in 2026, we will see a strong financial incentive to improve packaging design. While it makes sense to focus on data in the first instance, the announcement of the government’s Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) before Christmas gives brands a clear indication on whether their packaging falls into the green, amber or red category. They can now start thinking about reducing costs.

Reducing packaging volumes is a quick way to tackle costs, but eliminating ‘red’ packaging materials will also be key. Valpak’s benchmarking modelling shows that switching to the ‘best in class’ packaging format for a 32-inch television, for example, would halve pEPR fees.

The first step on the road to change is to assess the current state of play. A full appraisal will help to identify the impact of areas such as shipping and container fill or product protection requirements. It should also provide a packaging specification that details the composition and quantity of materials used.

When it comes to pEPR costs, benchmarking is invaluable. At Valpak, we use the information in our database to benchmark products from every sector, and we often identify significant savings. For example, reducing the use of problematic polymers and increasing the amount of paper in the packaging of small car toys, to replicate the best packaging in their class, brands using the average packaging for the market could reduce pEPR costs by over 52 per cent.

For those ready for change, applying hypothetical modifications to packaging design can save time and money. ‘What If…’ modelling allows businesses to compare the potential impact of change against existing products. They can then opt for the product that fulfils their goals.

Nations as far apart as the Americas, Asia and Oceania are implementing their own schemes, and every EU member state must have a pEPR scheme in place by the end of this year. As pEPR spreads across the globe, packaging improvement will be critical if we are to reduce impact across the entire value chain – from cutting carbon emissions and monitoring carbon footprint, to taking steps to achieve net zero, building supply chain resilience, reducing waste and optimising packaging.

For more information visit the Valpak website.