The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations amend the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 ( S.I. 2024/1332 ) (“ the 2024 Regulations ”).

Regulation 4(2) amends regulation 7 of the 2024 Regulations (packaging and packaging categories) by amending the definition of “fibre-based composite material” and inserting a definition of “paper or board”, two of the packaging categories prescribed in the 2024 Regulations.

Regulation 4(5) amends regulation 12 of the 2024 Regulations (exclusion of charities) so that, instead of being excluded from the application of the 2024 Regulations in their entirety, charities are only excluded from the application of provisions of the 2024 Regulations which impose obligations on producers.

Regulation 5(1) and (2) amend provisions in Part 2 of the 2024 Regulations (producers and obligations) which define classes of producers and specify the packaging in relation to which they are producers for the purposes of the Regulations.

Regulation 5(6) and Schedule 1 insert new regulations 27A (corporate mergers), 27B (transfers of ownership of a brand or business) and 27C (transfers of ownership: further obligations where the transferor is a large producer) in the 2024 Regulations.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 34 of the 2024 Regulations (record-keeping obligations) to require records and evidence to be kept by producers who collect and send certain packaging waste for recycling in a closed loop recycling arrangement.

Regulation 7 and Schedule 2 amend provisions in Part 5 of the 2024 Regulations (disposal costs) about the calculation of disposal fees and administration fees payable by liable producers. Among other things, these amendments—

enable closed loop packaging waste, defined in regulation 34(5A) of the 2024 Regulations as inserted by regulation 6(4)(e), to be offset against the weight of household packaging waste supplied by a liable producer which is used in calculating the producer’s disposal fees;

enable the scheme administrator to take into account, in modulating liable producers’ disposal fees for household packaging waste, whether the amount of packaging used by a producer is no more than reasonably necessary to fulfil its purpose; and

make provision for the late assessment of a liable producer’s disposal and administration fees.

Regulation 10 amends regulations 115 and 118 of the 2024 Regulations (offences), and regulation 16 amends the table of civil sanctions in Schedule 13 to the 2024 Regulations. The amendment to regulation 118 makes it an offence in Scotland for pub operating businesses and licensors to fail to comply with obligations in Schedule 10 to the 2024 Regulations.

Regulation 12 amends the charges prescribed in Schedule 1 to the 2024 Regulations.

Regulation 13 amends Schedule 4 to the 2024 Regulations (producer reporting information) to include a requirement to report closed loop packaging waste.

Regulation 14 and Schedule 3 amend Schedule 7 to the 2024 Regulations (the scheme administrator) to confer power on the scheme administrator to appoint one or more other bodies (a “Producer Responsibility Organisation”) to carry out on its behalf such of the scheme administrator’s functions as are specified in the appointment.

Other minor and consequential amendments are also made to the 2024 Regulations.

Regulation 18 and Schedule 4 contain transitional provisions.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.