Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to correspondence reference MC2026/09208/NA, what assessment he has made of the potential impact pEPR rules being for glass distributors on (a) costs to consumers and (b) levels of plastic packaging by those distributors.

The Government published its October 2024 assessment of the impact of introducing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. It assessed packaging producers as a whole, including consumer-price impacts, but did not assess glass distributors specifically. It estimated the overall inflationary impact to be small, with a central estimate of 0.07% on CPI.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of impacts on levels of plastic packaging used by glass distributors. From 2026, pEPR fees are modulated so less recyclable packaging incurs higher fees and more recyclable packaging lower fees. Defra continues to engage with industry stakeholders including the glass sector.