PackUK Confirms 2025 Packaging Fees and Sets Out Three-Year Recyclability Plan

If your business sells goods in packaging - whether that’s cardboard boxes, bottles, jars or plastic wrap - there’s an important update you should know about.

PackUK (the body running the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, or pEPR scheme) has confirmed the 2025 base fees for the scheme. It has also set out a new three-year plan for how fees will change from 2026, depending on how recyclable your packaging is.

Let’s break down what this means.

What is pEPR?

pEPR is a government scheme where the businesses that make or use packaging (called “producers”) help pay for the cost of collecting and recycling it. The more packaging you put on the market, and the harder it is to recycle, the more you pay.

2025 Fees Confirmed

The 2025 fees published by PackUK will be used for the first invoices in October 2025.

The good news is that most fees are less than was indicated last December. For example, glass is down by about 20%.

How Fees Are Worked Out

For 2025, fees are based on:

•          The packaging tonnage reported by producers for 2024
•          Local authority waste management costs.

What’s Changing From 2026?

From the 2026–27 year onwards, fees will be adjusted depending on how recyclable your packaging is.

In short:

•          Green-rated (highly recyclable) packaging = steadily decreasing fees.
•          Red-rated (poorly recyclable) packaging = progressively higher fees.
•          Medical packaging gets some exceptions due to safety rules.

The difference isn’t small - red-rated packaging could cost you double by 2028–29 compared to now. This gives businesses a financial reason to switch to greener options.

Why This Matters

Even if you’re not producing huge amounts of packaging, these rules may still affect your costs - and your customers may ask more questions about your sustainability practices. So, it may be a good time to:

•          Review what packaging you use.
•          Check how recyclable it is.
•          Start planning any changes before the higher fees kick in.

For more details, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging-announcements#full-publication-update-history

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