EPR & Take Back Schemes

You may try to run or hide but Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is coming. As the plastics industry rapidly aligns itself to prepare for EPR, a crucial aspect seems to have been overlooked. The BPF’s Brian Lodge (Director of Plastics Packaging and Flexibles) and Omar Davidson, (Recycling & Sustainability Executive), recently visited My Group to delve deeper into the potential impact that EPR will have upon take-back schemes.

My Group offers an extensive array of recycling and waste management solutions. Their Hull location serves as the plastics hub, where they specialise in recycling challenging plastics that often go uncollected by kerbside collections. Their ReFactory brand features a £2 million remanufacturing facility that transforms unusable plastics into new products. With innovation at its core, ReFactory has given new life to waste such disposable face masks and recovered ocean plastics.

Another way that ReFactory gives a new life to used plastic is through their ReFactory boxes. The ReFactory boxes are used for a take back scheme aimed towards individuals or small business. They look to recycle common items which can’t be collected at the kerbside such as blister packs, glasses, 3D printing waste, coffee pods, cosmetics waste and mixed plastics.

The EPR guidelines focus on items that are most suitable for kerbside recycling. Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and Plastic Recycling Facilities (PRFs) are set up to collect, sort, and recycle the bulk of packaging placed on the market. Innovative take-back programs, like My Group’s ReFactory, provide a recycling route for smaller packaging items that often slip through the cracks of traditional kerbside systems.

However, as it currently stands EPR unfairly targets manufacturers who produce smaller products by imposing higher fees through eco modulation, costs that will inevitably trickle down to consumers. Despite the potential for these items to be recycled through take-back schemes.

Steve Carrie, Director at My Group said that:

MYGroup ranks among the UK's largest consumer takeback systems, we provide a crucial service for packaging recycling where kerbside is not an option. Our service supports the UK’s transition towards to a circular economy however we are concerned the impact that EPR may have. We encourage all to develop a collection process that ensures quality materials are efficiently and effectively managed—without compromise.”

Furthermore, recyclers who are also providing the collection service for take back schemes gain no advantage from EPR. As any revenue generated from EPR goes to local authorities who are not involved with take back schemes. While the PRN scheme offers some support for recyclers, its current flaws encourage waste export over domestic recycling, find out more here.

The BPF has raised this critical issue by writing a letter to Steve Reed OBE (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Take-back schemes offer an indispensable recycling service and deserve recognition, not penalties, simply because they operate outside the traditional kerbside framework. You can read a copy of the letter here.

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Brian Lodge ([email protected]) or Omar Davidson ([email protected]).