• Making it easy
• WEEE knowledge bank
• Packaging knowledge bank
  • Introduction
  • The legislation
  • Who is obligated?
  • What you need to do
  • PRN system
  • Responsibilities
  • Consumer information obligation
  • Targets
  • Agency fees
  • Offences under regulations
  • Further information
• Batteries knowledge bank
• CIO hub
• Comply Direct documents
• Useful links

What you need to do

Currently, you have two choices. You may either:

• Carry out your obligations under the 2005 Regulations yourself (the individual route); or
• Join a registered compliance scheme. Membership of a scheme will exempt you from your obligations because the compliance scheme will take on your obligations and discharge them for you. However, you will still need to provide data to the scheme on the amount of packaging.

The individual route

If you decide to discharge your recovery and recycling obligations yourself, you will need to:

• Register with the Environment Agency by the 7 April at the latest each year.
• Assess how much packaging went through your business in the previous year, complete a data form (specifying packaging handled by specific the following specific packaging materials – Glass, Aluminium, Paper (cardboard), Plastic, Steel, Wood and under Other (which would include materials such as Jute and Cork) and calculate tonnage obligations for the amount of recovery and recycling of packaging waste you must discharge that year and you must provide this information to the Environment Agency when you register.
• Pay a registration fee to cover registration and the Agency’s costs of monitoring and data analysis and management.
• Ensure that the required amount of packaging waste is recovered and recycled that year.
• Confirm compliance with your obligations to the Environment Agency by 31 January of the following year.
• Provide certain information to consumers (this only applies if you are a retailer or other “seller”).

The compliance scheme route

If you prefer, you can join a compliance scheme such as Comply Direct, which will exempt you from carrying out your obligations yourself. The majority of obligated businesses do choose to join a compliance scheme (approximately 90%). The compliance scheme will take on your legal liabilities and will carry out the recovery and recycling obligations for you. However, you will still be required to pay a (although reduced) registration fee (to the Agency) and calculate the tonnages of packaging you handle via a data form. You should also be considering whether you can minimise the amount of packaging you use and can obtain advice on this from your scheme.