Changes announced to reduce packaging costs for pubs and other hospitality venues

New changes have been announced by government to help reduce costs of disposing of packaging for pubs and other hospitality businesses.

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. Changes will cut double charging for recycling the same packaging, saving businesses up to 6p per beer bottle and 10p per wine bottle.

Extended Producer Responsibility was introduced to incentivise businesses to switch to more sustainable packaging. Changes to rules aim to make the system fairer and better targeted, as well as support the UK’s glass manufacturing industry.

Alongside the upcoming changes for glass bottles that take effect next year, businesses will also be consulted on the fees they pay for packaging waste, the government has announced.

The consultation will explore changes to Extended Producer Responsibility that mean 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.?

Industry leaders have welcomed the announcements.

Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said:

“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. “

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.”