The Times consumer affairs columnist Andrew Ellson carried a story today and at the weekend on the renewed lobby from the Supermarkets to delay the so called “grocery tax” due to pressures on business following the budget. The “grocery tax “ is in fact an extended producer responsibility (EPR) on the producers who supply the supermarkets with their packaged products for use. For each piece of packaging used a small levy will be collected on behalf of the producers to fund the collection and treatment of these materials. An organisation will be created to administer the EPR levy fund to support the collection of recyclables directly with Local Authorities.
The “grocery tax” has been around since the introduction of widespread domestic recycling in the 1990’s in the form of the Council tax we pay. Local Authorities have shouldered the cost of the collection and treatment of recycling without the ability to influence the quantity, quality nor cost of recycling this packaging. EPR now links producers for the first time with their consumers contribution to improving the environment and should be viewed as an opportunity.
EPR will undoubtedly create better design of packaging and products, we know that 80% of the environmental properties of packaging are formed at their inception so producers will be keen to get this stage right. EPR introduces the concept of “modulated fees” (the size of levy depends on the environmental properties of the packaging placed on the market) to make packaging more recyclable. The ability to differentiate and market their products and packaging as greener than others to consumers will stimulate a positive environmental pressure.
EPR will also help to stabilise the value of recycled materials by increasing the demand to use these materials in new packaging. The volatility of recycling material values impact the overall cost of the service for Local Authorities and undermines the investment case to build more U.K. recycling infrastructure. This volatility in value has long been a real barrier to improving our stagnant recycling performance but now through EPR can be addressed.
After six years in consultation (EPR introduced in the English Waste & Recycling strategy in 2018) the legislation related to EPR has been well debated and needs to begin as soon as possible. It’s adoption will be a positive contribution to improving our existing inadequate system.
We can’t continue to metaphorically “kick the can down the road” as this will not improve recycling rates, nor stimulate infrastructure investment and jobs and most of all not help to protect our environment.
