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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the cost of Extended Producer Responsibility in the (a) United Kingdom and (b) European Union.

Defra has considered the design of similar schemes in European countries as Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging has been developed in the UK. However, direct cost comparisons of schemes in different countries can be misleading because schemes differ in scope, the treatment of drinks containers, and how waste management costs are reflected. In the UK, fees are calculated to reflect the costs faced by local authorities, using packaging weight and estimated volume, alongside costs associated with collection, treatment and disposal.