The UK government will exempt glass drink containers supplied to pubs, restaurants and licensed hospitality venues from extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) fees, Defra has announced. The relief will apply to fees calculated from April 2027 for glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups.
Defra said the decision responded to industry concerns that some businesses were effectively paying twice for recycling: once through commercial waste collection and disposal costs, and again through pEPR fees. The government said pEPR must remain fair and should not place disproportionate costs on particular industries or hospitality businesses.
The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to fund the recycling and treatment of packaging waste placed on the market. Defra said the exemption would not weaken the principle that producers should contribute to packaging waste costs, noting that £1.4bn had already been provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services.
Fee review and reuse work
Alongside the exemption, Defra plans to consult on the fees companies pay for packaging waste so that easy-to-recycle materials such as glass and paper cost less, while harder-to-recycle packaging such as some plastics costs more. The department said this could cut fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% a year.
Defra also said it would launch a call for evidence in December on ways to support scaled-up reuse commitments for packaging, as part of efforts to curb waste and plastics use. Early next year, the pEPR administrator PackUK is due to hold a market engagement exercise on the fees charged to manufacturers, seeking views on how to encourage greater use of recyclable materials.
Timing and coverage questions
British Glass welcomed the policy change but noted that the reforms would not take effect until the third year of the pEPR regime, running from April 2027 to March 2028. Nick Kirk, the group’s executive director, said the proposals began to address unintended consequences of pEPR and better recognised glass’s environmental benefits. He pointed to a planned update to the glass material value, an acceleration of modulation factors and a commitment to review future fee structures.
Kirk said British Glass needed to understand the full impact of the hospitality exemption, but welcomed the government’s recognition of cost challenges facing hospitality businesses. He also supported the planned market engagement on fee methodology and potential support for reuse.
Questions remain over glass drink containers supplied indirectly through wholesalers. The announcement covers direct sales to hospitality groups, and parts of the industry are expected to continue campaigning on how indirect supply is treated under pEPR.
Industry reaction
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, called the announcement a “significant first step” toward avoiding double charging for drink containers used by hospitality businesses. He said soft drinks companies took recycling responsibilities seriously and that a successful EPR scheme could raise recycling rates and reduce waste, but unfair cost allocation would undermine it. He added that the association looked forward to working with Defra on a solution for indirect supply that builds on the ratio-based approach announced.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction on glass charges would be a relief to pubs. She said the measures could reduce cost pressures on UK brewers by tens of millions of pounds, but argued that the 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as small and medium-sized enterprises must also be included. Otherwise, she said, more than a quarter of Britain’s pubs would not benefit equally.
Trade remedies
The government also linked the announcement to market pressures on glass production and packaging, including two investigations by the independent Trade Remedies Authority into imported glass containers from China and Turkey. Following a recommendation from the authority, a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September; both investigations remain ongoing.
Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the changes would support British business, the glass industry and pubs while ensuring efforts to reduce waste continue.