Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees
UK organisations that are affected by extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging may need to get evidence of packaging waste recycling and pay disposal fees.
If you’re a UK organisation that supplies or imports packaging, you may be affected by extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging.
A separate guide covers previous producer responsibility regulations – you may need to meet both sets of regulations depending on your situation.
If you’re affected by EPR, you, or a compliance scheme working on your behalf, must:
- create an account on the report packaging data service
- submit your organisation details
- submit your packaging data
- pay your registration fees to your environmental regulator
If you’re a large organisation, or a compliance scheme working on their behalf, you will also need to do the following to meet your producer obligations:
- review your ‘recycling obligations’ - these are calculated as a percentage of the packaging waste you’ve reported
- fund an equivalent amount of recycling by buying packaging recycling notes (PRNs) and packaging export recycling notes (PERNs) from waste reprocessors and exporters
- provide the PRNs and PERNs as evidence of you meeting your obligations
You must meet your obligations for each material individually. If you exceed your obligation in a material, you will see a negative number in that category.
You cannot use excess PRNs or PERNs acquired for one material to substitute meeting your obligation in another material. For example if you exceed your recycling obligation for glass, you will still need to meet your specific obligation for paper in full.
From October 2025, you will also need to pay waste disposal costs. A compliance scheme working on your behalf will not be able to do this for you.
Get evidence of your packaging waste recycling
Once you’ve registered on the report packaging data (RPD) service, submitted your data, and paid your registration fees, you must review your recycling obligations. You will be able to see this when you log into your RPD account.
Accredited waste reprocessors and exporters who manage your packaging waste can issue PRNs and PERNs to you for the packaging waste they recycle. You can issue your own if you are accredited.
You must get evidence in the form of these PRNs and PERNs for the packaging waste recycling equivalent to the weight of your obligation from them.
For example, if you placed paper packaging on the market, you will need to get paper PRNs or PERNs equivalent to 75% of its total weight (rounded to the nearest tonne).
Only large organisations must obtain PRNs and PERNs for the packaging they place on the market.
If you recycle packaging waste your own business handled or supplied, you must still obtain a PRN or PERN from accredited reprocessors and exporters. For example, if you have supplied a specific amount of paper bags, you must obtain PRNs or PERNs showing recycling equivalent to your recycling obligation for that material.
Packaging recycling targets 2025 to 2027
| Material or process | 2025 business target | 2026 business target | 2027 business target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | 75% | 77% | 79% |
| Glass | 74% | 76% | 78% |
| Aluminium | 61% | 62% | 63% |
| Steel | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Plastic | 55% | 57% | 59% |
| Wood | 45% | 46% | 47% |
Decide what year to use your evidence for
Once you have received the PRNs and PERNs you need, you will need to use, or ‘accept’, them toward meeting a year’s recycling obligations.
If waste is received at an accredited reprocessor or exporter in December of any year, you can choose to accept the PRN or PERN for either:
- the year the waste relates to
- next year’s obligations
PRNs and PERNs that relate to months that are not December can only be used toward the recycling obligations for their accreditation year.
For example, a PRN or PERN issued under 2025 accreditation for March can only be accepted toward meeting 2025 recycling obligations. However, you can choose to accept a PRN or PERN issued for waste received or exported by an accredited reprocessor or exporter in December 2025 for meeting 2025 or 2026 recycling obligations.
The deadline for meeting each year’s recycling obligations for the year ending 31 December is 31 January the following year.
For example, the deadline for acquiring PRNs or PERNs for recycling obligations relating to the 2024 year will be 31 January 2025.
Where to manage your PRNs and PERNs
The way you can access your PRNs and PERNs has changed.
Both producers who report directly and compliance schemes should use the EPR for packaging service to accept or reject PRNs and PERNs towards 2025 recycling obligations. Use your RPD account to access the service.
You cannot use the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) to accept or reject PRNs and PERNs.
Your specific recycling obligations for each material for 2025 will be calculated and visible on the EPR for packaging service after you are registered, and you’ve submitted both your packaging and organisation data and it has been accepted by the regulators.
Until your recycling obligation has been calculated, your obligation status on the EPR for packaging service will show ‘no data’.
To find out how your recycling obligation will be calculated, see schedule 5 of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
How to view data from previous years
If you need to see your data from previous years, you can log into the NPWD, but you will need to log into your RPD account to manage your PRNs and PERNs for your 2025 recycling obligations.
Waste disposal fees
If you’re a large organisation responsible for packaging, the data you collect and report in 2024 will be used to calculate the waste disposal fees that you must pay in 2025. These are also called waste management fees.
Waste disposal fees only need to be paid for packaging that is classed as household, commonly binned packaging and glass household drinks containers.
Fees for packaging placed on the market in 2024 will be invoiced from October 2025.
Illustrative base fees for EPR are now available. The illustrative fees are a first estimate of the waste disposal fees, based on the best available evidence to date, and are not final figures.
In future, waste disposal fees will also vary depending on how easily the packaging can be recycled. Your fee will be lower if you use packaging that is easier to recycle.
Get help
If you have any questions, contact your regulator or the EPR customer service team.
Environment Agency
Email: packagingproducers@environment-agency.gov.uk
Natural Resources Wales
Email: packaging@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Email: producer.responsibility@sepa.org.uk
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Email: packaging@daera-ni.gov.uk
Defra EPR customer service
Telephone: 0300 060 0002 Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm
Updates to this page
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Clarified that waste disposal fees only need to be paid for packaging that is classed as household, commonly binned packaging, or glass household drinks containers, with links to the guidance on household and non-household packaging.
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Added recycling targets for 2023 to 2025. Updated guidance about managing PRNs and PERNs on the EPR for packaging service.
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Removing date sensitive guidance for December 2024 and January 2025. Emphasising that obligations have to be met per material. Explaining how managing PRNs and PERNs will work through the EPR for packaging service.
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First published.