Trade body the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) fears revised fees – as defined by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) – on a number of materials, including glass, will be too much for some brewing businesses to cope with.
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin said: “The revised estimates for glass are an extremely worrying step in the wrong direction.
“Government must be clear-eyed that these proposed higher additional costs on brewers would land an extra £160m or 5p per glass bottle on the sector.
“This could force some brewers to leave the glass bottle market.
“Given the incredibly narrow margins UK brewers operate to, as they make an average of 2p per bottle of beer, this means they’ll be forced to pass on extra painful costs to the consumer if they want to carry on making their product.”
Illustrative base fees
EPR regulations will apply to UK businesses that import or supply packaging and will have to report its packaging use for a given year if it is an individual business, subsidiary or group (but not a charity); it has an annual turnover of £1m or more; it was responsible for importing or supplying more than 25 tonnes of packaging to the UK market in the previous calendar year; and it carries out any of the ‘packaging activities’, such as supply packaged goods to the UK market under its own brand and owns an online marketplace.
The latest update to the scheme gives illustrative base fees for the first year of the scheme in 2025.
The third, and most recent, release of illustrative EPR base fees from 2025-26 are:
| Material | Rate (in £ per tonne) |
|---|---|
| Aluminium | 435 |
| Fibre-based composite | 455 |
| Glass | 240 |
| Paper or board | 215 |
| Plastic | 485 |
| Steel | 305 |
| Wood | 320 |
| Other | 280 |
Circular economy
However, the previous estimates (from September 2024) showed glass as having a lower fee, even at the higher estimate, as shown below:
| Material | Lower (£ per tonne) | Intermediate (£ per tonne) | Higher (£ per tonne) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium | 320 | 405 | 605 |
| Fibre-based composite | 355 | 450 | 565 |
| Glass | 110 | 175 | 215 |
| Paper and card | 135 | 190 | 250 |
| Plastic | 360 | 425 | 520 |
| Steel | 220 | 265 | 330 |
| Wood | 145 | 240 | 340 |
| Other | 180 | 205 | 240 |
McClarkin added: “The sector is, of course, committed to a more circular economy and sustainable packaging solutions, but it is critical Government properly considers the full impact of these fees and wider packaging reforms on our industry, which will severely diminish growth and risk jobs.
“We urge them to continue to review these fees and ensure they are fairer and more sustainable, so we can continue to play a critical role for the UK’s economy and employment.”
