Steps will back Britain’s glass industry and slash unfair double charges for pubs, saving them up to £870 a year.
A photo of a woman carrying a blue recycling bin
A photo of a woman carrying a blue recycling bin
New action has been announced by the Government to ensure restaurants, pubs and hospitality businesses get a fairer deal in disposing of packaging and waste.
Changes will cut double charging for recycling the same packaging, saving businesses up to 6p per beer bottle and 10p per wine bottle. For a pub selling 10,000 beer bottles and 3,700 wine bottles, this would save them up to £870 a year.
Glass drinks containers being sold directly from producers to pubs, restaurants, and other licensed hospitality venues will no longer be liable for Extended Producer Responsibility fees from April 2027.
The measures are part of the government’s commitment to back the British glass industry.
Businesses will also be consulted on fees they pay for packaging waste, so that easy-to-recycle packaging like glass and paper cost less and hard-to-recycle packaging such as some plastics costs more. This could help reduce fees for the most recyclable packaging by up to 40% per year.
Extended Producer Responsibility was introduced to incentivise businesses to switch to more sustainable packaging, as part of the government’s drive to reduce waste. The changes announced today will make it fairer and better targeted.
Separately, the independent Trade Remedies Authority is undertaking two investigations on imports of glass containers. This includes a dumping investigation on Chinese-origin imports and a subsidy investigation on Turkish-origin imports.
Following a recommendation made by the Trade Remedies Authority, a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports was imposed on 9 September. Both investigations remain ongoing.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said:
We’ve listened to industry and hospitality businesses and are stepping in to reduce the fees for the most recyclable packaging – including tackling double charging on glass bought by pubs.
This government is committed to supporting British business and these changes back the glass industry and pubs while making sure we’re all doing our bit to reduce waste.
Nick Kirk, Executive Director of British Glass, said:
We welcome today’s announcement, which recognises both the importance of the UK glass industry and the need for a fairer approach to packaging fees, giving confidence to UK manufacturers. The measures outlined are a positive step towards ensuring that highly recyclable materials such as glass are properly recognised within the system, while also benefiting other recyclable materials including metal and paper.
We look forward to working with Government on the next phase of reforms to create a packaging framework that rewards circularity, supports British manufacturing and gives businesses the confidence to invest.
British Soft Drinks Association Director General, Andy Bagnall, said:
Tackling double-charging for drinks containers supplied directly to hospitality is a significant first step towards addressing the unfair packaging costs our industry has faced for several years under Extended Producer Responsibility.
Soft drinks businesses take the responsibility for recycling the packaging they place on the market seriously, and a successful EPR scheme can increase recycling rates and reduce waste, but unfair allocation of costs undermines its effectiveness. We look forward to working closely with Defra on a solution for indirect supply that builds on the ratio-based approach announced today.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said:
Across the beer and pub sector there will be much relief that the Government will reduce the costs of glass packaging fees and is also seeking to end the pernicious double charging that has been unfairly affecting Britain’s cherished pubs.
The direction of travel will be warmly welcomed, but it is essential that the long-term cumulative impact of the UK’s packaging policies are taken into consideration if we are to have a prosperous beer and pub sector in every post code.
These measures could reduce cost pressures on Britain’s brewers by tens of millions. However, it is vital that the 12,000 publicans that run leased and tenanted pubs as SMEs are also be included, as otherwise over a quarter of Britain’s pubs will not equally benefit from this important change.
We look forward to working closely with government in building on these important changes which are clear signal of intent to reduce the costs of doing business for brewers and pubs which sit at the heart of local communities throughout the country.
The Government remains committed to the principle that producers should contribute towards the costs of managing packaging waste and help reduce it, with £1.4 billion already provided to councils through the scheme to improve recycling services.
At the same time, it recognised that pEPR must operate fairly and not disproportionately impact some industries and hospitality businesses.
Further measures to support businesses are in the pipeline
Next month, a call for evidence will be launched to explore ways more businesses can reuse packaging on greater scales - helping reduce waste and plastic.
In early 2027, PackUK will also launch a call-for-evidence on fees manufacturers pay for packaging waste - to ensure easy-to-recycle packaging costs less.