Packing a Punch With Extended Product Responsibility

January ushered in a new era of packaging legislation for manufacturers and distributors.
Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) is set to affect budgets, staff time, labelling and packaging design.
And, with costs for some businesses increasing up to 11-fold, pEPR may be one of the most influential developments of our time.
Sustainability Magazine spoke to Ruth Beckley, Director of Customer Service and Compliance at Valpak by Reconomy, about how to navigate the new demand for data and tackle rising costs.
What is changing?
“Sustainability Magazine readers will be well aware of the complexity of global markets. But some might be less familiar with what takes place behind the scenes of packaging production. With the arrival of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), our relationship with packaging is changing.
“Packaging EPR legislation is expected to come into force in January 2025. But nations as far apart as the Americas, Asia and Oceania are implementing their own schemes, and every EU member state must have a pEPR scheme in place by the end of this year.”
Why is it changing?
“While each system varies, the principal aim of the legislation is to shift the financial burden of dealing with waste packaging onto packaging producers.
“Typically, it also includes a financial incentive to improve design. Valpak modelling shows the link between redesign and cost benefit under the UK system, where switching to the ‘best in class’ packaging format for a 32-inch television would halve pEPR fees.
“In the UK, data reporting has already started. The first pEPR fees will be charged in October 2025 and, from 2026, the legislation will also include eco-modulation, a system which places a higher charge on non-recyclable packaging.”
About Valpak
“Valpak is the largest compliance scheme in the UK. We manage UK and international compliance for household names such as Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Aldi.
“In partnership with WRAP, and with the help of our packaging weight database, which holds over 50 million stock-keeping units from thousands of suppliers around the globe, we also produce the UK’s only comprehensive packaging data resource – the PackFlow report series.”
Uncertainty in the industry
Valpak is encountering many brands that are still uncertain of their responsibilities – last year, our teams responded to an unprecedented 19,000 queries from businesses looking for advice on how to deal with the complexity of data reporting, or for ways to reduce the cost burden.
“This is not surprising. Data reporting calls for an entirely new set of metrics and, while brands and importers take on liability for the fees, non-fee-paying businesses are still required to report on the volume of materials sold into the four UK nations.
“As with any other product, the application of materials in packaging manufacture is not restricted by national boundaries.
“Analysis using Valpak’s Product Data Hub – a tool used to collect the packaging weights and composition needed under pEPR – shows that, while the majority of suppliers to the UK are based in Europe, over 1,600 hail from the Americas and more than 1,100 are based in Asia.”
How can businesses respond?
“ If brands are to succeed in sourcing this new set of data from suppliers in time to meet reporting deadlines, they need to make contact early and provide clear expectations.
“The first step on the road to change is to assess the current state of play. A full appraisal will help to identify the impact of areas such as shipping and container fill or product protection requirements. It should also provide a packaging specification that details the composition and quantity of materials used.
“When it comes to pEPR costs, benchmarking is invaluable. At Valpak, we use the information in our database to benchmark products from every sector and we often identify significant savings.
“For example, by reducing the use of problematic polymers in the packaging of small car toys – to replicate the best packaging in their class – brands using the average packaging for the market could reduce pEPR costs by over 51%.
“For those ready for change, applying hypothetical modifications to packaging design can save time and money.
“‘What If…’ modelling allows businesses to compare the potential impact of change against existing products. They can then opt for the product that fulfils their goals.”
Do it – because it’s worth doing
“As pEPR spreads across the globe, these behaviours will become embedded in our business practices.
“Lightweighting of packaging products or eliminating components altogether represent quickfire ways to achieve lower pEPR bills. But packaging improvement can reduce impact across the entire value chain – from cutting carbon emissions and monitoring carbon footprint, to taking steps to achieve net zero, building supply chain resilience, reducing waste and optimising packaging.”
To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.
Explore the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Sustainability LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand