EPR Guide - Flipbook - Page 18
Waste Management Fees (2025 onwards)
Starting from 2025, obligated producers have to pay for the costs of managing household packaging
waste. These are the fees that distinguish EPR from the old system. Here’s how it works:
• “Notices of Liability” (Invoices): Each year, after producers submit their packaging data, the
scheme administrator (PackUK, a DEFRA-appointed body) calculates how much each company
owes for that year’s waste management costs. Producers then receive a Notice of Liability (NoL)
– essentially an invoice – usually in the autumn (the 昀椀rst NoLs were sent in October 2025). For
Year 1 (2025), the fees were based on the tonnage of household packaging reported for 2024.
• Flat Base Fees in 2025: In the 昀椀rst year of EPR (2025/26 昀椀nancial year), fees were 昀氀at-rates
per tonne by material type – not yet adjusted for recyclability. These rates are set by PackUK/
DEFRA based on average national waste management costs for each material. For example, the
illustrative base fee for plastic packaging was ~£423 per tonne, for glass ~£192/t, aluminium
~£405/t, paper/card ~£190/t, steel ~£265/t, wood ~£240/t. (In practice, the 昀椀nal 2025 fees
ended up slightly lower than initial estimates for some materials, e.g. glass fees came in ~20%
less than projected, due to updated data and some government subsidy to cover shortfalls.)
Producers are billed based on how many tonnes of each material (in household packaging) they
moved into the market.
• Payment Schedule: PackUK has allowed producers to pay these fees in instalments, typically
quarterly. For 2025, many companies were given the option to pay their EPR bill in 4 payments
over 12 months, to ease cash 昀氀ow. By regulation, the full amount must be paid within 30 or 50
days of each invoice (exact terms can vary, but generally around 2 months per instalment). It’s
critical to pay on time; late payments can incur interest and enforcement action (see Penalties
section on page 34).
• No Fees in 2024: It’s worth noting that 2024 was a data-only year, producers had to report
packaging in 2023/24 but did not pay EPR waste fees in 2024. The government postponed
the fee obligation by a year (originally fees were slated for 2024, but in July 2023 a delay to Oct
2025 was con昀椀rmed). However, producers still had to comply with the older packaging waste
regulations in 2023/24, meaning buying PRNs for 2023 to meet recycling targets and paying
any Plastic Packaging Tax (a separate tax on non-recycled plastic content). So, 2024 was a
transitional period: EPR reporting began, but fees only kicked in from 2025.
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