The UK government has announced that glass drink containers supplied directly to pubs, restaurants and licensed hospitality venues will be exempt from packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) fees, with the change expected to apply to fees calculated from April 2027.
Defra said the decision responded to industry concerns that some businesses were effectively paying twice for recycling. Some hospitality businesses already fund commercial waste collection and disposal while also contributing to pEPR, which charges producers for managing packaging waste. The department said the exemption was intended to address that overlap without weakening the principle that producers should contribute to packaging waste costs.
Fee review and recycling incentives
The pEPR regime began invoicing companies last year to cover the costs of managing recycling and treatment of packaging waste supplied to businesses and consumers. With a review of fee structures already under way, Defra said businesses would be consulted on the fees they pay so that easy-to-recycle materials such as glass and paper cost less, while harder-to-recycle packaging including some plastics cost more. The department said this could reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% a year.
The government also said £1.4bn had already been provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services. It argued that pEPR must operate fairly and should not disproportionately affect particular industries or hospitality businesses.
Timing and scope
Although the exemption was presented as a next-year policy change, British Glass noted that the reforms would not take effect until the third year of the pEPR regime, which runs from April 2027 to March 2028. The announced relief covers glass containers sold directly by companies to hospitality groups. The British Soft Drinks Association said the treatment of glass supplied indirectly through wholesalers still required a solution and that it wanted to work with Defra on one that builds on the ratio-based approach announced.
Defra also set out further engagement. It plans a call for evidence in December on mechanisms to support scaled-up reuse commitments for packaging as a way to reduce waste and plastics use. Early next year, the pEPR administrator PackUK will hold a market engagement exercise seeking views on the fees placed on manufacturers and on how to encourage greater use of easy-to-recycle materials.
Industry response
Nick Kirk, executive director of British Glass, said the government had listened to glass manufacturers’ concerns about appearing to penalise the use of glass in packaging. He said the proposed changes began to address unintended consequences of pEPR and better recognised the environmental benefits of glass. Kirk pointed to a planned update to the glass material value, a proposed acceleration of modulation factors and a commitment to review future fee structures as moves toward a fairer system. He welcomed the hospitality measure but said its full impact needed to be understood.
Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, described the announcement as a significant first step toward ensuring hospitality drink containers were not double-charged. He said soft drinks businesses took recycling responsibilities seriously and that a successful EPR scheme could raise recycling rates and cut waste, but unfair cost allocation would undermine its effectiveness.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said the direction on glass charges would be welcomed by pubs. She said the measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain’s brewers by tens of millions, but the long-term cumulative impact of UK packaging policies must be considered. McClarkin added that 12,000 publicans running leased and tenanted pubs as small and medium-sized enterprises must also be included; otherwise more than a quarter of Britain’s pubs would not benefit equally.
Trade pressures
The announcement also comes amid market pressure on glass production and packaging. Two investigations by the independent Trade Remedies Authority concern imported glass containers from China and Turkey. The government said that, following a recommendation from the authority, a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September, and that both investigations remain ongoing.
Environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the decision responded to calls from the packaging and hospitality sectors over charges on recyclable products. She said the changes supported British business, the glass industry and pubs while ensuring efforts to reduce waste continued.