Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Government to delay new recycling scheme amid pressure from food makers

Government to delay new recycling scheme amid pressure from food makers
iStock image
Getty Images

UK government may delay extended producer responsibility for packaging (EPR) scheme amid pressure from retailers and food producers, which have warned that it will increase food and drink prices amid the cost of living crisis.

The new £1.7 billionn a year recycling scheme, due to take effect in 2024, would make companies responsible for bearing the costs of collection, sorting, recycling and disposal of packaging waste.


According to a recent report on Financial Times, ministers were reviewing its implementation and likely to announce a delay within days, sparking criticism from environmental groups. As set out, the EPR scheme will apply to companies that supply packaged goods to the UK market under their own brand, import products in packaging or sell non-UK made plastic products via an online marketplace.

Under the new rules, first proposed in 2018, they would have to collect and publish data on their packaging and pay various costs before obtaining formal “notes” from reprocessors confirming the packaging waste has been recycled. Payments would be made to a publicly run scheme administrator before being passed to councils to collect plastic waste and handle its recycling.

Retailers, manufacturers and food producers have been urging ministers to postpone the EPR scheme, saying it would not benefit the environment as intended and that the cost of the charge, if passed on by producers, could add up to £60 a year to household bills.

Karen Betts, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, said the scheme was “likely to prompt further price increases, just at the time when food and drink companies are working round the clock to keep prices down for hard-pressed households”.

Environmental groups, on the other hand, have warned that a delay risked pushing the reforms beyond the general election expected next year.

Libby Peake, head of resource policy at Green Alliance, a think-tank, said it was “ridiculous” that after five years the government had failed to implement the EPR.

“To scrap it now would mean they had wasted all that time,” said Peake, adding that she sympathised with producers that have had no say in fixing the UK’s “dysfunctional” recycling system and that some of the best EPR schemes had been led by business.

Nusa Urbancic, chief executive of the Changing Markets Foundation, also criticised the prospect of a delay, saying that the supermarkets and consumer brands that benefit from cheap disposable packaging should pay for its disposal.

“By listening to these lobby groups, the UK has become a real laggard when it comes to environmental legislation,” she said.

Asked by Tory MP Nigel Mills at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday (19) if the government planned to “pause or reset” the programme, prime minister Rishi Sunak said he had listened to industry concerns and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was “continuing to engage closely with manufacturers, retailers and packaging companies on the precise design of the scheme”.

More for you

Post Office cash deposits and withdrawals
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services

Parliament to launch inquiry into Post Office Horizon scandal compensation delays

Parliament is to launch an inquiry into delays in compensation settlements for sub postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.

The newly-formed Business and Trade Select Committee will call ministers, subpostmasters and their lawyers to give evidence next week with a second session to follow in mid-November. The Committee’s chair, Liam Byrne MP told ITV News that there was “definitely a delay” in people coming forward for payment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Robbie MacDonald via LDRS

Shop’s licence bid rejected over illegal vapes and ‘no regard’ for children’s safety

A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.

Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.

Keep ReadingShow less
SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR North of England retailer Dara Singh Randhawa’s family store has been awarded £100,000 of free stock after hitting all his targets since moving to the symbol.

Dara and his family, who have their SPAR store in Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, joined SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd in August 2023 having taken the decision to maximise the store’s potential.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pound Sterling bank notes
iStock

National Living Wage to increase to £12.21 in April 2025

The government has on Wednesday announced its acceptance of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW).

The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows:

Keep ReadingShow less
Michael Fletcher

Michael Fletcher

Former Nisa chief Michael Fletcher appointed SPAR UK managing director

SPAR UK has announced the appointment of Michael Fletcher as its new managing director.

Fletcher spent 22 years at Tesco plc, where he held numerous senior commercial roles in the UK, Ireland and Asia. He joined Co-op Retail in 2013 where he held the position of chief commercial officer before moving on to become CEO of Nisa Wholesale, a role he held until 2022.

Keep ReadingShow less