Packaging regulation – a warning to UK printers

We spoke to George Atkinson, Head of Policy at environmental consultancy Valpak, about how printers should be cautious regarding stricter packaging regulations.

What are the parameters on printing businesses’ turnover and types of packaging that the UK Packaging Waste regulations apply to?

Businesses with a turnover exceeding £2m (as found in accounts filed through UK Companies House) are obligated to comply with the Packaging Waste Regulations if they’ve also imported, made, filled or sold packaging or packaged products using over 50 tonnes of packaging in the previous calendar year. 

Any packaging can contribute to meeting this 50-tonne threshold: primary (sales unit) packaging, secondary packaging grouping multiple units or tertiary packaging (pallets/shrink wrap) that secures products during transportation.

How are the regulations/producer responsibility becoming more strict?

The packaging data that businesses are obligated to report to regulators is increasing, both in terms of the number of data points that need to be reported – this has increased by four times under new extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements in comparison to the previous regulations that’ve been in place since 2007 – as well as the granularity of the information. Under previous rules, only the base material needed to be reported: plastic, steel, wood and so on. 

Under the new EPR rules in 2025, reporting will need to be more specific to format or packaging type – for example, polymer for plastic packaging.

In what way might FESPA members in the UK unknowingly carry obligations under the Packaging Waste Regulations? 

Businesses not involved in the final sale of products to consumers may think the regulations don’t apply to them, but they do because many businesses are at least importing or filling some form of packaging. 

Here at Valpak, we still have businesses coming to us for compliance services after realising that they should have been complying for the last 10 years or more.

How can printers avoid non-compliance?

Does your business know how much packaging it is importing, making, filling, or selling? If not, calculating and controlling this will be imporant. It is quite surprising how difficult this can be for businesses, which is why over 90% of producers in the UK choose to work with a packaging compliance scheme to help them identify how much packaging they’ve handled and help them complete data declarations and meet any obligations to fund packaging recycling they may incur due to the regulations. Valpak is the UK’s largest packaging compliance scheme – we help over 2,000 businesses comply with the packaging regulations.

How has Valpak has been working with FESPA UK? 

FESPA UK got in touch as one of its members (Swanline, see statement below) had identified they should have been complying with the packaging regulations for numerous years, but hadn’t done so. 

George Atkinson, Valpak

In approaching the Environment Agency (EA) via Valpak, as instructed by the EA and in line with the regulations, the FESPA member made a contribution to an environmental charity that was equivalent to the costs of its previous non-compliance (an amount which would have been far greater had the EA identified its non-compliance themselves), avoiding criminal prosecution as a result. 

What tips do you have for printers on how to handle their packaging?

If a business is obligated by the regulations to fund packaging recycling, that amount they must pay is currently linked to the tonnage of packaging they handle in the UK. As a result, minimising the tonnage of packaging they’re using is vital, with reuse being high on the list of suggested actions. 

Looking ahead, under the new EPR regulations, fees payable to regulators for placing consumer packaging on the market will also be related to how recyclable packaging is. Therefore,  redesigning any primary packaging to be as recyclable as possible is advisable – a good place to start to understand best practice is recyclability guidelines published by material sector trade associations such as the Confederation of Paper Industries or British Plastics Federation.

What trends or developments do you predict in the future of packaging regulations and EPR in the UK? 

New EPR regulations are due imminently, which will place the cost burden of household kerbside collections in the hands of producers. This will be a multi-billion-pound initiative that will attempt to mandate recycling labelling, end the postcode lottery of waste collections and introduce a deposit return system for drinks cans and bottles; citizens across the UK are set to see notable changes in the ways we handle packaging and packaging waste as a society. 

In the future (probably after 2030), we are likely to see the government research how regulations can support increases in packaging return and refill systems, as well as a greater focus on encouraging brands and retailers to use packaging that isn’t just as recyclable as it can be, but also the least intensive to produce in respect of carbon or water usage. We’ll also see more innovations coming along – bio-based materials and the anticipated growth in chemical recycling being notable examples.

Statement from Nick Kirby, former Director of Swanline

We had written advice back in 2010 from Paperpak which stated that as Swanline were trade (manufacturing on behalf of other packaging and point-of-sale companies), we did not need to register as we were not servicing any direct users or packer/fillers. Where we fell down, was not recognising the need to register as our business developed into other related areas.

In 2021, we invited the EA through Paperpak to conduct an audit and it was determined that we were inadvertently in breach.

Thankfully, as Swanline took the initiative to challenge our own compliance, the EA were lenient about our failure to comply, and consequently the penalty that was levied us amounted to £14,000, which we were asked to make a charitable donation to that amount.

I should point out that the audit process was not a pleasant experience, involved our Managing Director being read his legal rights, and we were made to feel like criminals. Thankfully we dealt with the issue, but I know that there will be many other companies in a similar situation to ourselves in the point-of-sale sector who unbeknown to them, are captured in the EPR regulations.