FAQs

Q. What are the Packaging Waste Regulations? 
A. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005 impose 'producer responsibility obligations' on businesses in Great Britain that handle packaging. The Regulations aim to:

reduce over-packaging
eliminate certain dangerous materials from packaging
provide consumers with information
reduce the proportion of packaging waste going to landfill
increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste
put the burden of recovery and recycling on the producer

The 2005 Regulations consolidate and supersede the regulations passed originally in 1997 to implement the EC Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive in England, Wales and Scotland,

Q. Which businesses are affected by the Packaging Waste Regulations?
 A. All businesses that use/handle packaging or packaging materials will be affected by (i.e. 'obligated') the Regulations if they pass two threshold tests. They must have a turnover of more than £2 million and handle 50 tonnes of packaging in a calendar year. Obligated businesses are termed 'producers'.

Handling packaging includes the following activities:

producing raw materials for packaging manufacture (raw material manufacturer)
converting raw materials into packaging (converter)
filling packaging, i.e. putting goods into packaging or packaging around goods (packer/filler
supplying packaged goods to the end user (seller)
performing a service provision, i.e. supplying packaging by hiring out or lending (service provider)
importing packaging/packaging materials /packaged goods into the UK (importer)

Q. What are the regulations trying to achieve?
A. The regulations have been instigated by the government to meet the UK’s packaging recovery and recycling targets set out in the European Directive 94/62/EC. The aims of the regulations are to:

Achieve a more sustainable approach to dealing with packaging waste.
Reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill.

Q. Who needs to comply with the regulations?
A. Any company that has an annual turnover of more than £2m AND handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year.

Q. If a company within a group is below these thresholds does that company need to register?
A. Yes. If a group is obligated then all subsidiaries will be obligated by aggregation and will need to register and provide data on any packaging that they carry out an activity on.

Q. What is 'packaging'? 
A. Packaging is all products made of any materials of any nature used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods, from raw material to processed goods, from the producer to the user to the consumer, including non-returnable items.  For help on determining whether an item is packaging under the Packaging Waste Regulations, see the agencies interpretation of packaging waste. Ask Comply Direct for a copy.

Q. What packaging materials are included?
A. The main materials are paper, glass, steel, aluminium, plastic and wood and other packaging.  

Q. What are the obligations placed upon a company?
A. The three main obligations are:

i. Registration
 A company is required to register with the Environment Agency (EA), either directly or through a compliance scheme such as Comply Direct. The company must pay a fee to the EA, and submit to the Environment Agency or compliance scheme packaging data for the obligated year

ii. Recovery and Recycling
 A company is required to take reasonable steps to recover and recycle specific tonnages of packaging waste calculated on 3 factors: a) The tonnage of packaging handled in the obligated year b) The “activities” that the producer performs and the “percentage obligation” attached to each activity c) The national recovery and recycling targets

iii. Certifying 
A producer must certify to the EA by 31 January following the obligated year that it has recovered and recycled the necessary tonnage of packaging waste. If you join a compliance scheme all the above obligations are taken on by the scheme.

Q. What evidence of recovery/recycling am I required to obtain?
A. Normally the evidence obtained will be in the form of ‘packaging waste recovery notes’ (PRNs) or ‘packaging waste export recovery notes’ (PERNs).

Q. What obligation do I have if I reuse my packaging several times?
A. Packaging only attracts an obligation on its first trip. Any subsequent re-use of the packaging will not attract an obligation.

Q. I use packaging made from recycled materials, do I have an obligation?
A. Yes, the obligation is based on the packaging you handle and not whether its made from recycled material.

Q. Do I have to collect data on packaging I receive as an end-user or consumer of that packaging?
A. No (unless you are the importer of the packaging), the obligation is based on the packaging you handle and supply, not on your backdoor waste.

Q. A holding company has a number of subsidiaries who all handle packaging. Each of them is below the 50 tonne and £2million turnover threshold limits, but aggregated together they exceed the two threshold tests. Are all the companies obligated?
A. Yes. All must be registered either as a collective group registration or through individual registration.

Q. What are the consumer information obligations (CIO)?
A. Only producers whose main activity is selling have to comply with the CIO obligations. Information has to be provided in relation to collection and recovery systems, their role in contributing to recovery, meaning of any recycling markings and the UK waste strategy.

Q. Do I include second-hand pallets on the data form and calculation?
A. Yes if imported but no if supplied from the UK.

Q. I purchase imported products from a UK supplier. Do I have to pick up the importer’s rolled-up obligation?
A. The obligation will lie with the person who first takes legal ownership of the packaging when it enters the UK.

Q. If a customer asks me to provide them with information on the weight of packaging I have supplied them, am I legally obliged to do so?
A. No, but it is normal business practice to exchange such information where possible.

Q. How do I know what constitutes packaging?
A. Packaging is defined as being: “All products, made of any material of any nature, to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods from raw material to processed goods from the producer to the user or the consumer, including non-returnable items”

Q. What is meant by "activities" and what percentage of packaging has to be recovered / recycled under each activity?
A. The activities referred to in the legislation are:

Manufacturing packaging raw material 6%.
Converting packaging raw materials into packages 9%.
Packing/Filling of packages with products 37%.
Selling of the full packages to the final user 48%.

A company may fall into more than one of the above categories, and therefore will have to account for the relevant percentages on each of the activities. 

Q. Do I have to join a compliance scheme to discharge my obligations?
A. No. You can register directly with the Agency if preferred. In this case you must submit an operational plan (if your turnover is greater than £5M) and complete the Agency Data Submission Forms, register with the Agency, purchase the necessary Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN's), and submit a Compliance Certificate as evidence of compliance.

Q. Does a company with several subsidiaries, none of which are individually obligated, still have obligations under the legislation?
A. The requirements for groups of companies are very specific. If a group has several subsidiaries, each of which does not have at least £2m turnover and 50 tonnes of packaging on its own, the group still has to register if the total turnover and packaging of the group exceeds these amounts.

Q. Can a group register?
A. A group of companies may register as a group, individually for each subsidiary, or register some of the subsidiaries together, as long as they include the holding company of the group, and some separate.

Q. What is a PRN?
A. A Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) is the most common form of evidence of recycling and/or recovery. A material reprocessor who has been accredited by the EA sells the PRN to the producer (or its compliance scheme) for the necessary tonnage of packaging. The cost of the PRN is market driven, and can rise or fall depending upon the availability of the recycled commodity (plastic, steel, etc.) to which it refers.

Q. Do I have to recycle or recover the specific packaging that I sent to my customer?
A. No. The reprocessor will recycle the equivalent amount and type of material, and supplies the PRN as evidence that this has been done.

Q. If i recycle my own waste material, am I already meeting the requirements of the legislation?
A. No. The legislation is specifically aimed at the recycling of packaging material. The recycling of production residues, even if they are cardboard, plastic, glass or other material that can be used for packaging purposes, cannot be used to meet the requirements of the legislation. In all cases, the recycling of the material is only one aspect of the legislation. You still have to register with the EA and supply evidence of recycling through the purchase of PRNs 

Q. Are there any obligations on imports or exports?
A. Where packaging or packaging material is imported, the Importer has the “Rolled-up” obligation on all the activities carried out outside the UK. Therefore, if the importer imports packaging to pack/fill they are also obligated for the manufacturing and converting obligations. If a company exports goods outside the UK, it has no obligation on that packaging, as it will not be discarded within the UK

Q. We meet the turnover threshold but not the packaging handled threshold, therefore are we obligated?
A. No. Although you have satisfied most of the criteria for an obligated producer, you have not satisfied ALL the criteria (in this case the tonnage threshold). You do not need to comply with the Regulations this year. However, you should still maintain a record of the packaging that you handle, because should you use more than 50 tonnes of packaging this year, and the other factors remain the same, then you will have to comply with the Regulations next year.

Q. What are the consequences of not complying with the Regulations?
A. Fulfilling the criteria and thus being an obligated producer under the Regulations means that your business or group of companies MUST register with the appropriate Agency in the relevant compliance year. Failure to do so is an offence and the company can be prosecuted by the appropriate Agency. Many businesses have already been successfully prosecuted for non-compliance. The highest fines to date have been surplus of £250k.

 Q. Do we have to recycle our own waste? 
A. Your obligation is based upon the packaging that you handle (i.e. the packaging that flows through your company), not the packaging waste in your own bins. You are not required to recycle your own waste, although it may be beneficial, from an environmental and financial perspective, to do so.