The UK’s major drinks and hospitality bodies have united to try to stop the rollout of the government’s extended producer responsibility scheme, saying it is “flawed” and “unviable”.
In the latest blow to the troubled scheme, the WSTA, Scotch Whisky Association, UKHospitality and the BBPA called for crisis talks with Defra ministers to discuss their anger over the new scheme.
The drinks bodies pointed to exclusive figures from Valpak, first revealed last month by The Grocer, which showed that Defra’s latest forecast EPR fees for glass of £240 per tonne would put on average 12p on a bottle of wine, 5p on a bottle of beer, and 18p per bottle of Spirits.
The extra cost does not include other packaging.
With 2,487,000 tonnes of glass sold in the UK each year, they said the scheme could cost business half a billion pounds a year.
Businesses will start to accrue a liability for EPR fees from the start of the 2025/26 financial year in less than six weeks’ time. The bodies pointed out that they would enter that period without the actual fees being known.
They said no business could be expected to sign up or account for unknown costs.
Drinks manufacturers and hospitality bosses are also demanding the government takes into account the “infinitely recyclable” nature of glass. They claim disproportionately high fees for glass are discouraging its use and are likely to result in substitution for less recyclable alternatives, undermining the stated aims of EPR.
The call for EPR to be shelved is the latest blow to the scheme, after The Grocer revealed earlier this month that the FDF had warned it would withdraw its support for the scheme unless the government took urgent action to mitigate its concerns, including ringfencing the funds raised from producers, to be spent on improving recycling facilities within local authorities.
It told economy minister Mary Creagh that patience had run out among manufacturers, amid fears over the costs and the lack of accountability for the scheme.
“EPR fees are another nail in the coffin for UK businesses whose profits – and any growth – have been drained by a barrage of added tax levies and increased costs, which will hit hard especially for SMEs who have limited reserves,” said WSTA chief executive Miles Beale:
The lack of clear information regarding costs means businesses can’t plan effectively – or at all. We want an urgent meeting with Defra ministers to discuss delaying the scheme until it is fit for purpose – without which there is a real risk that some businesses won’t survive.”
Ruth Piggin, director of industry sustainability at the Scotch Whisky Association, added: “The lack of clarity on fees means businesses are unable to plan for the future in confidence.
“The scheme lacks incentives for local authorities to help turn used packaging into new packaging and has no requirement that payments made must be spent on improving recycling systems.
“We need the UK government to delay and review the scheme and work closely with industries to achieve our shared goal of reducing packaging and retaining valuable materials for use.”
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ”We have made clear to Defra the need to resolve this issue, through applying exemptions to products consumed and disposed of within hospitality venues.
“With less than six weeks to go, urgent action is essential.”
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin said the chaotic implementation of EPR would would wipe out brewer margins on bottled beer and drive up inflation.
However, today the four UK governments issued a joint statement confirming their support for EPR, which they said was “crucial to supporting the transition to a circular economy, while maximising the carbon efficiencies associated with the lifecycle of packaging materials”.
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