A packed crowd of well over 250 attended the launch panel, with visitors cramming in to sit on the floor to learn what they could about how PackUK will be run.

The panel represented each of the UK’s four nations’ governments, and was hosted by chair of the UK EPR scheme administrator’s industry-led steering group, Sebastian Munden.

Assembling the administrator and ironing out a plan across all four nations has been a “herculean effort”, said Shane Doris, director of environmental resources policy division at the department for agriculture and rural affairs, Northern Ireland.

“[It has involved] politicians, officials, packaging industry representatives and other stakeholders from across the UK. I can think of no better event to launch PackUK, and I look forward to healthy discussions with the many value chain professionals attending.”

Representing England and Westminster was Emma Bourne, director of resources and waste at the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra)

She said the scheme, which will charge packaging producers for the cost of handling their packaging waste, was “absolutely central” to the government’s goal of economic growth – ”as controversial as that might sound in this room”.

She said: “EPR is the cornerstone to a wider set of reforms.

“These reforms will bring investments into the system, into our [waste disposal] infrastructure, and that investment will create an economy with greater resource security.”

Economic stimulus

Defra estimates that packaging EPR will stimulate an additional £10bn of investment in recycling services across the UK over the next 10 years, and will support up to 21,000 new jobs when combined with the government's unification of recycling services and the forthcoming deposit return scheme for drinks containers.

The scheme administrator, now under the PackUK name, has been working in constant collaboration with its industry-led steering group, Bourne added.

“We are now at the start of the real graft. We have listened to industry, we’ve listened to government, and we will keep doing that. This is complicated, and it’s hard – but it’s hard because it matters.

“Ultimately, this is about building an efficient and effective system. And that’s why it’s important to have local government and industry around the table talking about how this all works within the regulations,” said David McPhee, deputy director of the circular economy for the Scottish government.

“EPR is not new – they have it around the world. But it is new here.”

Part of PackUK’s mission will be to drive up recycling rates across the country to ensure a continuous supply of feedstock to recycling firms – giving them, in turn, greater security to invest.

Rhodri Asby, deputy director of resource efficiency and the circular economy for the Welsh government, explained that the Welsh recycling rate victory – Wales is the second-best country in the world at recycling – was reproducible across the four nations.

He added that the unsettled geopolitical climate of the past few years has focussed government minds on resource security.

“By helping to prevent the disruption in natural resources that we’re seeing globally, and supporting access to secondary materials, [EPR] has become an important initiative for our economy,” he said.

“It’s useful to reflect on the experience we had during Covid, where the recycling services were able to put raw material back into the economy. It’s about resilience and consistency.”

Bourne added that the onus was on the industry to drive change, with the legislation acting as the impetus.

“We’re trying to find a way forward where we build a partnership with an industry-led organisation. That’s why we’re leading those conversations with the steering group,” she said.

“This is about system change, so the industry needs to be driving it.”

Industry calls for transparency

Questions from the audience focused on implementation of the scheme, with a round of applause raised after one producer, Tony Bellian of SHS Drinks, said that SMEs would likely have to pass costs on to customers – a sentiment met with the only round of applause of the session.

Bourne challenged the premise, contending that with local governments already paying to dispose of or recycle packaging waste, taxpayers were already footing the bill – without being able to do anything to cut down on their packaging waste footprint.

Under the new regulations, the onus will shift from private citizens to the producers creating the waste in the first place, spurring them on to reduce the amount of packaging they commission or create, or to make it more recyclable.

Munden added: “That’s the biggest point: the industry can innovate, but citizens can’t. They’re paying already. If you apply the rules of competition and innovation, over time [you will solve the issue]. Citizens can’t do that on their own.”

Dick Searle, chief executive of packaging advocacy group The Packaging Federation, told Printweek the industry simply wanted a transparent picture of how the figures would be calculated.

“We want to see realistic base fees, based on absolute transparency between the sector trade associations and Defra – that’s yet to happen. At the moment, the way things stand, the highest fees are on the two materials which are most recyclable.

“The base fees are based primarily on weight, and the question needs to be asked whether that’s the right thing to do. 

“Industry is not opposed to EPR, but it wants EPR to work. For it to work, we need a guarantee that the money we give to local authorities is used by local authorities for the adequate collection, processing and recycling of all materials.”

Having faced multiple delays, EPR is nearly ready to launch in full, with fees due to start being collected in October 2025.

PackUK, which currently employs around 30, will be up to strength at a full complement of around 65 full-time staff by the end of summer, according to Margaret Bates, head of PackUK.

She told Printweek that the administrator would be advertising for two senior roles in the coming weeks, and that it would soon also be opening up spaces in three industry-led committees, each representing a different area: one will oversee PackUK’s communications and influence over the public’s behaviour, the second will focus on the scheme’s effectiveness and efficiency, and the third will focus on the recyclability of packaging used.

“The steering group has been a really interesting journey. It’s moved from being a group of individuals all in one room, to now being a really effective, collaborative team. That sums up what EPR will achieve,” she said.

“We’re really hoping [participants] will come from across the value chain, they’ll come very informed, but open-minded, and that they’ll see the value of working together so we can have a scheme administrator, PackUK, and an EPR system that continuously improves.

“The aim is to have a robust system that people understand and trust, that they see is being improved [continuously]; from an internal point of view, it’s to shift money effectively and get the right amounts to the right people.”

James Montero-MacColl, senior marketing manager at Packaging Innovations organiser Easyfairs, told Printweek that the PackUK launch had been a “particular highlight” of Packaging Innovations' first day.

“This will go down as one of the biggest and best-attended days in show history,” he said.

“The show floor is noticeably busier this year and some of the talks at the conference stages have been packed out. The debut of PackUK attracted one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had to our conference stage.”