Overview
- From 1 October, the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme shifted household packaging recycling costs from councils to producers using a weight-based charge.
- A British Retail Consortium survey indicates retailers plan to pass over 80% of the new costs to consumers, while 85% report a significant jump in compliance workloads.
- The Bank of England estimates the policy will add about 0.5 percentage points to food inflation, intensifying existing price pressures.
- Glass packaging faces the steepest fees under the weight-based model, with indicative increases of about 9p on a bottle of wine, 4p on a 330ml beer, and 11p on a spirit bottle.
- Manufacturers and hospitality groups warn of disproportionate impacts on glass and smaller firms, citing costs such as Heck!’s £150,000 hit and the FDF’s £1.1bn first-year estimate, as debate grows over ringfencing revenues and potential exemptions.