Can emergency talks rescue Defra’s multibillion environmental flagship?

 Three weeks ago, the third environment secretary in as many months declared the UK was “leading the way” in tackling plastic pollution.

After holding initial getting to know you (again) talks with supermarkets, suppliers and campaign groups, Thérèse Coffey said it was vital for all parties to work together if they were to succeed.

Yet in the short time since, campaign groups and MPs have both slammed the industry for its slow progress, while food & drink trade bodies have urged the government to tear up its flagship plans for the environment in the form of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Apparently they are not the only ones worried about it. Last week, The Grocer revealed Coffey had written to the industry attempting to placate fears and calling for emergency talks to thrash out more-workable EPR plans for delivery “at pace”.

That was followed on Thursday this week, as The Grocer went to press, by a joint response from FDF CEO Karen Betts and BRC director of food & sustainability Andrew Opie, expressing support for EPR –while reiterating industry frustration at the current plans and questioning the timescale for developing new ones ahead of the planned 2024 rollout.

“The industry feels let down by a poor consultation process which has resulted in proposals that are overly complex, lack ambition and do not follow successful EPR schemes in other countries,” it said.

“We simply do not think the government’s proposals will deliver the bold, innovative, national recycling system the UK so sorely needs.

“Our industry has grave misgivings about EPR in its current form, and time is running out to build a successful, results-driven, cost-effective scheme.”

The statement said an effective scheme needed to make use of “the vast experience our companies have” in packaging and supply chain and urged the government to “engage constructively with industry in an open-minded way, through which we can create together a genuinely fit for the future scheme that works for us all”.

The statement echoes concerns expressed in a letter from 20 industry bodies to Coffey’s predecessor Ranil Jayawardena over being kept at ‘arm’s length’ in the planned scheme.

So, can a new round of make-or-break talks sort out the mess, or is a major front in the war on plastic doomed to failure?

New plans

In Coffey’s new letter to the industry, seen by The Grocer, she writes: “We recognise that securing value for money for producers is essential in delivering the outcomes that we want to achieve.

“I fully understand your concerns about the cost of delivery, so I encourage you to take up this opportunity.”

Coffey says that despite the government having had more than four years to draw up its EPR proposals, it now hopes the industry will “co-design” its delivery in time for the 2024 deadline. The irony of this is not lost on industry sources, who were claiming they had been left out of the loop and calling for the rollout to now be delayed, ahead of Opie and Betts’ joint statement.

One retail source says after so much time “ignoring” industry calls for a greater role in designing EPR, the SOS has received an “incredulous” welcome from many businesses.

“It’s taken four years to design the policy and it’s difficult to see what can be done fix it in these talks.

“I fear the answer to that is very little. It’s likely that the government will promise ‘co-design’ but that it will not materialise. They have made this promise previously and not followed through.

EPR: The plans

Who? EPR applies to any £1m-plus turnover businesses or organisation handling and suppling packaging to consumers or businesses and responsible for more 25 tonnes of it in a calendar year.

When? The scheme was initially planned for rollout by 2023, but earlier this year the government pushed back the implementation date to 2024.

How much? In March, government slashed the projected cost to producers by an estimated £1bn by dropping elements of the plans including making industry foot the bill for collecting waste from businesses. EPR is still set to cost industry £1.7bn a year. Defra says it will give organisations an indication of what their fees will be “as soon as we can”.

Source: Defra/The Grocer

The source adds: “The key issues with the plans as they stand is that there is far too much focus on cost transference from public purse to industry without due consideration for delivering better outcomes.

“Either way, the average citizen will pay, either through taxes or the goods they buy.”

Robbie Staniforth, head of policy at compliance scheme Ecosurety, says hopes are fading fast that EPR will be the environment game-changer the government has promised.

“The government’s dithering over the last few years has led to frustration from most of the industries that will be touched by these reforms,” he says.

“Producers feel that policy design has focused too much on transferring costs and not enough on delivering better environmental outcomes.

“Given its current state, EPR policy looks like it will have little positive impact in the short term.”

Climate impact

But there are also warnings that if EPR is delayed it might not only set back the war on plastic but could result in the scheme being axed for good. Climate change experts Wrap say delays to EPR will “inevitably” impact on key targets in the war on plastic and climate change.

“Further delay is sub-optimal,” adds a source. “The proposals are not as good as they could be, but delay now risks these important reforms being scrapped altogether.

“Modulated fees and the ‘polluter pays’ principles are inherently good ideas.”

Andrew McCaffery, EPR director at packaging data specialist Ecoveritas, says Coffey’s intervention will be “music to the ears” of those in the industry he accuses of trying to “row back on green initiatives using the cost of living crisis as cover”.

“It is disheartening to see businesses again putting their bottom line ahead of the planet. The environment cannot afford for EPR to be delayed or watered down. And with PRN prices spiralling out of control, industry needs a stable EPR system.

McCaffery argues failure to tackle climate change now will hand future generations a cost of living crisis “far, far worse”.

“Having been hindered by ambiguous targets, a lack of transparency, and a revolving door of ministers, these flagship EPR reforms desperately need a new breath of momentum.

“Without EPR, packaging collection and recycling are unlikely to be meaningfully scaled, and tens of millions of tonnes of packaging will end up in the environment every year.”

So, just days after world leaders came together to tackle the big threats to the environment at COP27, the talks taking place closer to home could decide whether the UK really is a world leader, or whether its environmental plans slip further into the mire.