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Packaging producers liable under the Regulations ( referred to as 鈥榯he Regulations鈥�) have reported significant concerns regarding the time and resource required to meet their 2025 H1 recyclability assessment obligations, including reporting their Recyclability Assessment (RA) on or before the 1 October 2025 statutory deadline. These concerns were expressed by large producers across several sectors.

In response to this feedback, while still recognising PackUK鈥檚 commitment to introduce the modulation of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) fees from the 2026 to 2027 assessment year, each of the 4 environmental regulators of the UK has published the following Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) and Regulatory Decisions:

• Environment Agency Recyclability assessment obligations (RPS 350)

The RPS outlines how regulators will enforce producers鈥� obligation to report their Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) recyclability assessments for the first 6-months of 2025 (H1).

The Regulations require liable producers to assess the recyclability of household packaging supplied. As well as submit the results of those assessments on a half yearly basis to the relevant regulator:

• January to June 2025 (H1) recyclability assessment reports are due to be submitted on or before 1 October 2025.
• July to December 2025 (H2) RA reports are due to be submitted on or before 1 April 2026.

Under the Regulations, where a producer has not provided sufficient information about the sustainability of its packaging, that packaging is treated as if it were the least recyclable packaging in that packaging category 鈥� in other words the RED RAM subcategory modulated disposal fee.聽

For the first year of modulation (2026 to 2027) only, PackUK will use producers鈥� H2 2025 RA reports to ascertain sufficient information for the whole of the 2025 reporting year.聽

All other producer reporting requirements, including the requirement to report flexible and rigid plastics separately from 2025, remain unchanged.

Modulated fees

In calculating modulated fees for the 2026 to 2027 assessment year only, for those producers who rely on the RPS and do not submit RAM reporting in H1 2025, PackUK will treat the liable producer鈥檚 2025 H2 recyclability assessment report as sufficient evidence of the producer鈥檚 packaging sustainability by material category for the whole year. This approach has been validated by PackUK鈥檚 analysis of existing reported data and by industry engagement.

Therefore, for producers who do not submit H1 2025 recyclability assessments, modulated disposal fees invoiced in the 2026 to 2027 assessment year will be calculated differently.

Specifically, they will be calculated by extrapolating the H2 2025 RA report RAM ratings and applying them in the same proportions, by packaging category, to the聽 producer鈥檚 household packaging supplied in the H1 reporting period, on the assumption that the distribution of Red, Amber and Green RAM ratings is consistent within packaging material categories as between household packaging supplied in H1 and that supplied in H2.

For full details about how and how much disposal fees will be modulated for the 2026 to 2027 assessment year and on by RAM rating, see the Modulation Policy Statement by PackUK alongside this statement.

Specifically, for a producer who does not submit H1 2025 recyclability assessments, the producer鈥檚 H2 2025 recyclability assessments will determine whether PackUK:

• applies a 20% increase to the amount of a liable producer鈥檚 household packaging waste disposal fees for the 2026 to 2027 assessment year where the 2025 H2 RA report shows that the household packaging is less recyclable (a Red RAM rating)
• a calculated percentage reduction to the amount of a liable producer鈥檚 household packaging waste disposal fees for the 2026 to 2027 assessment year, based on and funded by the premium generated from Red RAM packaging supplied, where the 2025 H2 RA report shows that the household packaging is more recyclable (a Green RAM rating)
• applies no adjustment to the amount of a liable producer鈥檚 household packaging waste disposal fees for the 2026 to 2027 assessment year where the 2025 H2 RA report shows that the household packaging is neither more nor less recyclable (an Amber RAM rating)

PackUK will continue to work with each of the 4 environmental regulators for the UK (see the list in the annex) to ensure the continued monitoring of data to prevent and detect non-compliance.

Worked example

Liable producer 鈥榅鈥� reports the following household packaging data in H1 2025 but, in reliance on the relevant RPS, does not report their 2025 H1 RA results:

• 400 tonnes of paper聽or board
• 300 tonnes of flexible plastics
• 200 tonnes of rigid plastics

Liable producer 鈥榅鈥� reports the following household packaging data in H2 2025, together with its 2025 H2 RA results:

• 300 tonnes of paper or board, with RAM rating breakdown of 20% Red, 30% Amber and 50% Green聽
• 500 tonnes of flexible plastics, with RAM rating breakdown of 30% Red, 40% Amber and 30% Green聽
• 100 tonnes of rigid plastics, with RAM rating breakdown of 40% Red, 20% Amber and 40% Green

Liable producer 鈥榅鈥檚鈥� H2 RAM rating breakdown will be applied by PackUK to all household packaging supplied by 鈥榅鈥� in 2025,such as to packaging supplied in H1 as well as H2. So,鈥� X鈥檚鈥� full year submissions will be:聽

• 700 tonnes of paper or board, all treated as having a RAM rating breakdown of 20% Red, 30% Amber and 50% Green聽
• 800 tonnes of flexible plastics, all treated as having a RAM rating breakdown of 30% Red, 40% Amber and 30% Green聽
• 300 tonnes of rigid plastics, all treated as having a RAM rating breakdown of 40% Red, 20% Amber, 40% Green

If a liable producer fails to meet its 2025 H2 recyclability assessment obligations, the producer commits an offence and may be subject to enforcement action. Additionally, PackUK will treat this as the producer not providing sufficient information to enable it to determine the degree of sustainability of its packaging, in line with regulation 64(8), and will increase the packaging waste disposal fee for all reported packaging affected within each category to be equal to the Red RAM subcategory disposal fee.

Likewise, if a liable producer does not supply household packaging in H2 2025 but does so in H1 2025 without fulfilling its recyclability assessment obligations for that packaging, all household packaging supplied in H1 2025 will treated as if it were Red under the RAM and the producer鈥檚 2026 to 2027 household packaging waste disposal fees will be modulated accordingly.

Environmental regulator鈥檚

If you have any queries about the RPS, contact your environmental regulator packaging team:

• in England contact the Environment Agency by emailing [email protected]
• in Northern Ireland contact the Northern Ireland Environment Agency by emailing [email protected]
• in Wales contact: Natural Resource Wales by emailing [email protected]
  in Scotland contact Scottish Environment Protection Agency by emailing [email protected]