Defra has said it will reconsider its system of calculating fees for extended producer responsibility (EPR), less than a week after the initial estimates were published. It follows industry warnings of huge cost increases that would “inevitably” be passed on to consumers.
In a meeting with producers and local authorities yesterday, Defra bosses confirmed they had been bombarded with complaints from the glass industry after its estimates for the cost of recycling were unveiled at up to £330 per tonne.
British Glass has called for the introduction of the scheme to be delayed, warning that there will be “significant job losses” across the industry unless there is an “urgent and critical reassessment” of the fees.
Meanwhile, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) claimed the charges could add up to 7p on all of the 3.2 billion bottles of beer sold each year in the UK, a total of more than £200m.
Defra published its estimated base fees for EPR, the flagship policy intended to make the industry responsible for the cost of recycling the packaging it puts on the market, last Thursday.
Other categories were based on indicative cost per tonne figures provided by Wrap, but for glass Defra used a new model being developed using a new system to measure local authorities’ packaging cost and performance, based on the dry weight of products.
Yesterday, Defra admitted the new model was still “under development”, though it had been intended as a model for other sectors to follow, with the rethink adding to uncertainty over the future of the charges.
It said it “understands the concerns from the glass industry, in particular regarding the higher than expected fees using this approach” and confirmed a meeting would take place with industry bosses that could see major changes to the way the fees are calculated.
“We are currently reviewing the approach to include a consideration of a volume-based approach versus using a weight-based approach,” Defra told yesterday’s meeting.
“The newly introduced base fees, calculated based on the weight of packaging materials, place a disproportionate burden on the glass industry compared to other materials,” said Nick Kirk, technical director of British Glass.
“These fees are much higher than expected, and British Glass fear implementation without revision could lead to significant job losses within the glass industry due to material switching.
“We urge the government and stakeholders to reconsider the fee structure of the EPR scheme in advance of the second set of illustrative base fees due to be published in September.
“Adopting a cost per unit system will drive better environmental outcomes, as individual units of packaging impact the environment rather than the weight of packaging.
“We call on the government to consult packaging industries further on the EPR fees, and to delay the introduction of EPR in the meantime.”
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin had described the fees facing the sector as “eye-watering” and warned they would inevitably affect customers, while WSTA CEO Miles Beale said the costs for glass were “significantly higher than many have estimated”.
Defra has stressed that the fees published for the industry are its initial estimates and are likely to change, with another updated set of figures due to come out in September.
The department has also urged producers to submit data to the controversial scheme, with the latest figures showing nearly 2,000 of the large producers enrolled to it have failed to do so, despite the deadline running out at the end of May.
Defra claimed there had been “lots of activity” from the enforcement authorities which had the power to hit companies with heavy fines.
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