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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme on businesses in (a) reducing the level of unnecessary packaging, (b) increasing the level of recyclable materials and (c) increasing the redesign of products to improve the recyclability; and if she will set out the evidence used to make those assessments.

The Government assessed Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) through the 2024 impact assessment. pEPR incentivises businesses to reduce unnecessary packaging, increase recyclable materials and improve packaging design by making producers responsible for household packaging waste management costs. From 2026, fees will be modulated using PackUK’s Recyclability Assessment Methodology, with less recyclable packaging attracting higher fees and more recyclable packaging attracting lower fees. Evidence includes the impact assessment, producer-reported data, local authority cost modelling, and extensive consultation and engagement. PackUK’s forthcoming five-year strategy will detail how environmental benefits, including packaging reduction and recycling quality and quantity, will be tracked.