Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is expected to be at the forefront of conversation at next month’s Environmental Packaging Summit, according to Ecoveritas.
Extended Producer Responsibility is a new piece of legislation that will see the full cost of managing household waste shift to producers. The UK Government hopes that the policy will deliver a more circular economy for packaging where greater quantities of recyclable waste are reprocessed.
In March, Ecoveritas raised concerns that many UK businesses are not ready for the policy’s implementation. According to its survey, 57.1% of respondents, or three in every five businesses surveyed, do not currently collect data on packaging waste – let alone report on it.
The British Retail Consortium also said that the EPR and Deposit Return Schemes combined would “add around £4 billion in costs to retailers,” which will be passed down the line to consumers.
The two-day Summit, held in Birmingham from 13th-14th June, aims to bring together packaging professionals from across the supply chain to talk about Extended Producer Responsibility, Deposit Return Schemes, and the very latest in sustainable innovation.
A panel session at the Summit on Extended Producer Responsibility will include:
- Claire Shrewsbury, director of insights and innovation at WRAP
- Steve Morgan, head of policy and infrastructure at Recoup Recycling
- Robbie Staniforth, innovation and policy director at Ecosurety
- Mike Baxter, external affairs director at BERRY bpi group
- Andrew McCaffery, chief strategy officer at Ecoveritas
McCaffery commented: “The unpalatable fact is that the UK still produces too much waste, and we don’t recycle enough. The summit will allow leaders and key thinkers to focus on challenges requiring absolute collaboration.
“For sustainability to be a truly commercial priority for corporations, legislation must incentivise sustainable choices and de-incentivise unsustainable ones. Governments worldwide have begun stepping up, enacting recycling claim standards, packaging bans and EPR laws. Progress is slow, but it’s gaining momentum.”
