The administrator for the UK Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging has published indicative fees for 2026, confirming increases in rates for most materials.
The EPR scheme seeks to make those who put packaging on the market responsible for its entire lifecycle, ensuring that product design incorporates considerations for disposal and recycling.
Administrator PackUK published the Year 2 indicative fees earlier this week. They cover the 2026/27 financial year.
The base fees for different materials are calculated using a weight-based methodology by dividing management costs for household packaging waste by the total amount of household packaging placed on the market. The result is a fee rate which is expressed in £ per tonne of packaging placed on the market.
PackUK set out not only base fees, also known as amber fees, but so-called ‘red’ and ‘green’ fees for harder-to-recycle and easier-to-recycle packaging formats respectively.
PackUK foresees the base rate fee for plastics increasing slightly from £423 per tonne to £455 per tonne. A similar increase, from £192 to £205, has been floated for glass.
A more dramatic increase has been anticipated for wood – from £280 to £450.
The Government said the indicative fees may yet change. For now, they give the packaging industry early visibility of likely costs, enabling them to plan ahead.
It is estimated that EPR will cost companies some £1.1bn per year.
EPR fees will cover administrative and regulatory costs, as well as funding the collection, sorting and disposal of household waste.
A missed opportunity on reuse
In related news, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is calling on policymakers in the UK and beyond to design EPR schemes which incentivise not only recycling, but reuse as well.
In a new policy briefing, the Foundation argues that EPR regulations are currently broadly missing opportunities to keep materials in use at a higher value for a longer time.
The Foundation is calling for the introduction of lower fees for packaging designed for refill and reuse than formats which are single-use.
While reusable packaging avoids ongoing disposal fees under UK EPR, the Foundation says the scheme’s fee modulation framework does not actively reward reuse or refill models.
More information is available at PackUK touts increased EPR rates for 2026 – edie