Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2023 to Question 136754 on Packaging: Recycling, what (a) aims and (b) objectives she has for the extended producer responsibility scheme in 2033; and what steps she is taking to achieve those aims and objectives.

The overall aims of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging are to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging that is produced, and to increase the proportion of this packaging that is recycled or reused. Our analysis estimates that, with the introduction of EPR in 2024 and a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers in 2025, overall recycling rates will increase from 63.2% in 2021 to 76% by 2033. This is an important step towards meeting our 25 Year Environment Plan commitment to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050.

These measures will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.2 million tonnes by 2033 as the creation of new packaging using virgin materials is reduced. This will contribute to climate change mitigation, in line with our commitment to decarbonise all sectors of the UK economy and achieve net zero by 2050.

This will be achieved by making producers pay for the waste management costs associated with the packaging that they place on the market. The EPR fees that producers will pay will also be varied (modulated) based on the type of packaging produced, with less easily recyclable packaging incurring a higher cost. This will place a strong financial incentive on producers to reduce the overall amount of packaging they use, and to design and use packaging that is easily reusable or recyclable.