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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of applying a weight-based approach to the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme on the glass bottle industry.

In autumn last year my department published an assessment of the impacts of implementing extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR), including on inflation, when the regulations were laid in parliament. However, this impact assessment does not include an assessment of the impact on specific materials or sectors.

The aim of pEPR is to ensure businesses - rather than taxpayers - are responsible for the cost of dealing with packaging when it becomes waste. These regulations will encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and increase recyclable and reusable alternatives. It is up to individual producers to decide whether and how much of these costs are passed on to consumers. While pricing decisions by producers will differ by product, the impact of pEPR on overall inflation is estimated to be small, increasing consumer costs by less than £1 a week per household, or 0.1%.

From year 2 of pEPR, fee modulation will be introduced and this will benefit the most recyclable materials by providing a fee discount. In contrast, less recyclable alternatives will incur an increased fee.

Since January 2025 the Recyclability Assessment Methodology has allocated packaging to fee modulation sub-categories, ensuring less-recyclable materials attract higher fees and drive investment in recyclability and innovation.