13 Oct 2022 --- The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has updated its extended producer responsibility (EPR) guidelines, requiring British businesses that handle or supply packaging to begin collecting relevant data on product origin, weight, trade and other parameters by January 2023. The announcement comes after Defra postponed the planned EPR implementation earlier this year until 2024 at the earliest, citing implementation concerns. The department’s complex guidelines, which dictate varying requirements according to the size and turnover of any given company, along with the materials they use, are expected to cause confusion once enforced, and likely incur heavy costs for industry as it transitions.
