Extended Producer Responsibility: what it means to you. JTA event explains background, the changes and next steps

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regimes are in place to make producers of certain products responsible for the costs of collecting, treating, and recycling those products at the end of life. EPR currently covers vehicles, packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, and batteries.

A new UK focus on resources and waste is leading to a rethink of EPR. Factors influencing this are:

• European policy,
• the desire to deliver a Green Brexit,
• and mounting pressure on local authority budgets.

Thinking on packaging is the most advanced. Producers can expect to see much higher bills in future. Some 8-10 times higher than current compliance costs. There will be a desire to change packaging design through new incentives.

Changes are in store for all EPR regimes. The Government is also thinking about extending EPR to other products. Furniture, mattresses, paint, and nappies are among the products that have discussed.

The workshop is free to attend. It will look at:

• the background to EPR,
• what changes might look like,
• what the next steps will be,
• and how producers can prepare.

The workshop is organised by the Joint Trade Association (JTA), a group of the country’s leading product focused trade associations, who work together on policy issues around producer responsibility. Recolight is an associate member.

EPR Workshop agenda

10:30 – 10:45am    Welcome by Chair and Background to the Event 

Susanne Baker, Chair of the JTA

10:45 – 11:15am    The Revised Waste Framework Directive: What Recent Changes Will Mean for Producers 

Eleanor Reeves, Environment Counsel, Ashurst

11:15 – 11:45am    UK Government’s Vision for Extended Producer Responsibility after Exiting the EU: Current Status and Next Steps

Paul Bradley, Team Leader, Extended Producer Responsibility and Packaging Reform, Defra

11:45 – 12:15pm     Implications for Compliance Schemes, and Consequential Impacts on Producers

Nigel Harvey, CEO, Recolight

12:15 – 12:45pm     Case Study: Cost Implications of Change for the UK Packaging Producer Responsibility Regime

Peter Mitchell, Valpak Consulting  

12:45 – 13:30pm     Panel Debate: What will Responsibility Look Like under Future Extended Producer Responsibility?

Eleanor Reeves, Ashurst
Louise Grantham, Finance Director, REPIC
Jonathan Perry, EMEA Producer Responsibility, Dell
Nigel Harvey, CEO, Recolight

To register interest in attending please contact Lucas Banach.

The event is at TechUK Offices, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC41 4AD