Defra has announced on 5th September that, until 31 May 2024, no legal enforcement will be taken against producers who fail to report data for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging.

This regulatory position statement (RPS) applies to the requirement for large producers and compliance schemes to submit the first and second data reports to the Environment Agency under regulation 17(2), 17(3)(a) and 20(1), on or before 1 October 2023 and on or before 1 April 2024 respectively. It only applies to these 2 data reports.

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

• submit the first reports containing the data covered by regulation 17(1) on or before 31 May 2024

• submit the second reports containing the data covered by regulation 17(1) on or before 31 May 2024

• keep records for 2 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

Things to note

This RPS has been put in place as Defra has decided to defer the coming into force of the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility main Statutory Instrument by 12 months.

The reports must be reported separately and cannot be submitted as a single annual report.

This RPS does not change the requirements under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, which remain in force.

When you must check back

This RPS will expire on 30 June 2024.

The Environment Agency can withdraw or amend this regulatory position before it expires if they consider it necessary.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the expiry date, to see if this RPS still applies.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must tell the Environment Agency immediately, using the contact details under the ‘Contact’ heading.

Contact the Environment Agency

If you have any questions about this RPS contact packaging@environment-agency.gov.uk.