Producer responsibility
Information for UK businesses on how to comply with the Producer Responsibility Obligation (packaging waste) Regulations 2007
Find out how Producer Responsibility regulations are designed to reduce the amount of certain types of waste produced and encourage industry to reuse, recover and recycle it. This includes electronic and electrical equipment (EEE), packaging and batteries, with the batteries directive due to be implemented in 2009.
Producer Responsibility uses the polluter pays principle, making businesses who place products on the market take on some of the waste management costs of their products when they reach the end of their life. WEEE, packaging and batteries were considered as priority waste streams which needed tackling due growing concerns about their impact on the environment. The UK must meet its national targets for recovery and recycling of these wastes set under each EU Directive.
Whilst each set of Regulations are different in detail, there are producers, compliance schemes and reprocessors and exporters in each piece of legislation.
Producers generally are companies or persons who are placing products on the market which will become waste at some point. The producers register every year either with ourselves or through a compliance scheme, and throughout the compliance year must obtain evidence that their contribution to this waste stream has been recovered, recycled or reused. Reprocessors and exporters can apply to issue this evidence of recovery but must follow strict rules when doing so.
Our work under Producer Responsibility is divided up between Area and National Waste & Industry Regulatory Service colleagues.
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Producer responsibility for packaging
Concern in the EU about certain waste streams and their environmental impact led to the first producer responsibility directive, the Packaging Waste Directive (94/62).
This came into force in 1994 with clear objectives to:
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- reduce over-packaging
- eliminate certain dangerous materials from packaging
- provide consumers with information
- reduce the proportion of packaging waste going to landfill
- increase recovery and recycling of packaging waste
- put the burden of recovery and recycling on the producer
Who is obligated?
About 5,500 businesses in England and Wales are obligated under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (packaging waste) Regulations 2007 as amended (the regulations).
The regulations obligate companies to recover and recycle packaging waste to meet national targets. The UK recycled over six million tonnes of packing waste in 2006 as a result of these regulations.
Businesses must pass two threshold tests to become obligated producers. They must have a turnover of £2 million or above and handle 50 tonnes or more of packaging in a calendar year.
Companies who are part of a group should be aware that the turnover threshold applies to the cumulative group turnover.
Producers are defined in the regulations and include manufacturers, converters, importers, pack-fillers and sellers, who supply to another part of the chain or to the end user.
Obligated producers have a choice either to register with us or to join a compliance scheme on an annual basis. Producers' recovery and recycling obligations are based on packaging handled in the previous year. Producers must register with us by the 7 April in each registration year.
Compliance schemes aim to fulfill the obligations of their members.
If you need further guidance on whether you are a packaging producer, please read our guidance below:
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Register now
Companies who think they should be registered under the regulations should contact us as a matter of urgency - failure to register as a producer when obligated is a criminal offence.
We have provided some guidance for companies who are or think they may be producers.
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Fees and charges
Obligated producers, who want to register with us and reprocessors and exporters who want to be accredited by us will have to pay fees.
Information about our charges is available on our charges web page.
Contact
Reporting free-riders
Call 0800 023 2090 if you know of a producer who is not complying with their obligations to register or recover/recycle packaging waste.
General
Call our National Customer Contact Centre on 08708 506 506 for general information.
