Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach through which a producer's responsibility for a product is extended to the post-use stage.

DEFRA set out in its Resources and Waste Strategy its intention to review existing Producer Responsibility systems (between 2021 and 2024) and potentially develop new schemes for five new waste streams by 2025 (two by 2022):

• Textiles
• Bulky Waste
• Certain materials in the Construction and Demolition Waste sector
• Tyres
• Fishing gear

The first stage consultation on reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system opened in February and closed in May 2019. The second stage consultation opened in March 2021 and closed in June 2021.

This consultation was launched in parallel with consultations on the Consistency in Recycling Collections in England and the implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England, in conjunction with the devolved administration in Wales and DAERA in Northern Ireland.

Consultation Response

It was initially believed the government would publish its responses to the consultations by the end of October 2021, however due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deputy director for resources and waste at DEFRA said at RWM the way forward will be published "later this year or early next" . The actual consultation response was published in March 2022 with a review planned for the EPR system application to business wastes for 2026 to 2027. As part of this delayed implementation, the stated intention is to extend the PRN/PERN system, and a consultation on this was launched in parallel with the launch of the EPR consultation in March 2022.

Key Changes to Original Consultation

to be added