The government has announced measures to ensure restaurants, pubs, and hospitality businesses get a fairer deal in disposing of packaging and waste.
Changes will cut double charging for recycling the same packaging, saving businesses up to 6p per beer bottle and 10p per wine bottle. For a pub selling 10,000 beer bottles and 3,700 wine bottles, this would save them up to £870 a year.
And glass drinks containers being sold directly from producers to hospitality venues will no longer be liable for extended producer responsibility fees from April.
Businesses will also be consulted on fees they pay for packaging waste, so that easy-to-recycle packaging, like glass and paper, cost less and hard-to-recycle packaging, such as some plastics costs more. This could help to reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
Extended producer responsibility was introduced to incentivise businesses to switch to more sustainable packaging, as part of a drive to reduce waste. The government said that changes announced yesterday would make it fairer and better targeted.
“We’ve listened to industry and hospitality businesses and are stepping in to reduce the fees for the most recyclable packaging, including tackling double charging on glass bought by pubs,” said environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle.
Andy Slee, chief executive of SIBA, said: “Pubs and independent breweries have been facing a fundamental unfairness under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, where they effectively have to pay twice for waste collection. This double counting has cost the pubs sector around £50 million a year. Today’s announcement by the government to resolve this issue is sensible and a welcome move in the right direction.
“The implementation of EPR has had a significant impact on independent breweries, the glass industry, pubs, and consumers by adding extra costs, bureaucracy, and additional challenges. Some breweries have been forced to cut staff to cover the extra cost of EPR. We hope that the government’s consultation on fees will help reduce this impact on a fragile industry.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: ”Across the beer and pub sector there will be much relief that the government will reduce the costs of glass packaging fees and is also seeking to end the pernicious double charging that has been unfairly affecting Britain’s cherished pubs.
“The direction of travel will be warmly welcomed, but it is essential that the long-term cumulative impact of the UK’s packaging policies are taken into consideration if we are to have a prosperous beer and pub sector in every post code.
“These measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain’s brewers by tens of millions. However, it is vital that the 12,000 publicans that run leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs, are also be included, as otherwise over a quarter of Britain’s pubs will not equally benefit from this important change.”
Next month, a call for evidence will be launched to explore ways more businesses can re-use packaging on greater scales, helping to reduce waste and plastic. And, in early 2027, PackUK will also launch a call-for-evidence on fees manufacturers pay for packaging waste, to ensure easy-to-recycle packaging costs less.
