The first reporting deadline for Extended Producer Responsibility is imminent, making businesses financially responsible for the recycling of their packaging.
While the UK’s largest businesses prepare for a 1st October, deadline, the date serves as a prompt for SMEs to begin preparing for their own costs and reporting obligations.
Although smaller businesses are not required to pay waste processing fees at this stage, they are still required to pay a £1,216 registration fee and submit their first annual packaging report by 1st April, 2026, to ensure compliance.
The policy currently defines two tiers of business based on annual turnover and the volume of packaging handled:
- Large producer: annual turnover of more than £2 million, and handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year.
- Small producer: Annual turnover between £1-2 million, and handling 25-50 tonnes of packaging per year.
“While the EPR scheme is an important step towards sustainability, the annual registration fee of £1,216 and the new reporting responsibilities are a significant new cost for small businesses to fit into their budgets,” said Joe Phelan of money.co.uk.
“As the deadline for larger firms approaches, now is the ideal time for SMEs to get organised for their own deadline in April. Proactive planning will help ensure these new costs are managed smoothly within their financial forecasts.”
Government advice on EPR can be found here.
• JD Wetherspoon is to open two new pubs in London on Tuesday (30th September), and they’re very different.
The Sun Wharf, at 50 Tooley Street, Southwark, is set in brick railway arches and was, until 2013, The London Dungeon. It is next to the entrance to London Bridge station.
The Sir Alexander Fleming, at Paddington Basin — five minutes walk from the station — is in a modern waterside building. The Basin was built as the terminus of the Grand Junction Canal.
• Heartwood Inns has opened The Red Lion in Stratford-upon-Avon, 33rd pub in its estate. The pub is located on the canal in historic Stratford-Upon-Avon and is just moments from the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The listed building has undergone a sympathetic multi-million-pound refurbishment to create 182 internal seats across the bar and dining room, with an additional 386 external covers in a spectacular garden.
“We are absolutely delighted to be bringing this iconic pub back to life in a truly special town,” said chief executive Richard Ferrier.
• Amber Taverns is opening its most southern pub, the Erasmus Wolfe, in Gosport, Hampshire. The premises was formerly a Conservative Club.
