EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’
How small producers register and what they must collect, report and pay under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging regulations.
As a small organisation (also referred to as ‘small producer’ under EPR for packaging regulations) who supplies packaging, you may need to:
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register with the regulator
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pay a fee
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collect and report data about the packaging
Supplying means carrying out one of these activities:
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supplying packaged goods to the UK market under your own brand
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placing goods into packaging
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importing products in packaging
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selling empty packaging
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hiring or loaning reusable packaging
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running an online marketplace
What a ‘small producer’ is
A ‘producer’ is generally a business or other organisation that supplies packaging.
A ‘small producer’ is an organisation that either:
- has an annual turnover of more than £1 million and up to £2 million and supplies more than 25 tonnes of packaging in the UK
- has an annual turnover of more than £1 million and supplies more than 25 tonnes and no more than 50 tonnes of packaging in the UK
The term ‘small producer is not related to how many people you employ.
Businesses over these thresholds are ‘large producers’ and they have different rules and reporting requirements. Check the rest of the guidance if you need information for large producers.
What information you must collect and report
As a small producer, you must collect data about:
- your ‘packaging activities’ - for example selling, filling or importing packaging
- the ‘class’ of any packaging - for example, packaging for a single sales unit like a crisp packet or packaging for grouping several sales units, like a box for holding many packets of crisps
- what your waste packaging is made of - the ‘packaging material’
- the weight of each packaging material that you’re reporting, in kilograms
- plastic and paper bags you supplied in England
Read more information about packaging activities, classes and materials.
The responsibility for a piece of packaging may change depending on whether you sell it to a large producer or another small producer. Check the guidance then contact the helpdesk if you are unsure about what to report.
When you must report this data
You must report data about the waste packaging you supplied in the previous calendar year by the 1 April of the following year. For example, you must report packaging data for January to December 2025 by 1 April 2026.
Read guidance about reporting dates and deadlines for both large and small producers, and what to do if you miss a reporting deadline.
Collecting and reporting plastic and paper bag data
The Environment Agency has issued a Regulatory position statement (RPS) about when you should collect and report data on plastic and paper bags supplied in England.
The statement also includes information about nation of sale and self-managed organisation waste data, but this does not apply to small producers.
Read the regulatory position statement to understand how this affects your data submission.
Who you’re reporting to
Each of the 4 nations of the United Kingdom has its own regulator. You’ll be reporting to and monitored by the regulator for your nation.
The regulators are:
- Environment Agency (England)
- Natural Resources Wales
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency
- Northern Ireland Environment Agency
How to report this data
You must report the data using the report packaging data (RPD) service.
Only certain people from an organisation can create an account:
- the director or company secretary
- a partner
- a member of a limited liability partnership
Sole traders can create accounts for themselves.
Create an account on the report packaging data service
The environmental regulators will have to approve your account. This will make you an ‘approved person’ and it will be your legal responsibility to make sure that the data your organisation submits is as accurate as reasonably possible.
More people can be invited to manage your data once you create an account. They’ll be ‘delegates’ and will also have legal responsibilities.
Registering your organisation
Once you’ve made an account, you must register your organisation with the environmental regulators.
The registration fee is £1,216
The fee is £631 if you use a compliance scheme. They can register on your behalf.
As part of registration, you need to upload information about your organisation. You’ll need to include information about:
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address
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turnover
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packaging activities
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contact details
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the people who’ll be verifying and submitting your data
You need to upload this information as a CSV file - a type of spreadsheet. Read separate guidance that explains all the information you need to include and how to structure the information.
There are also templates to help you.
Once you’ve submitted your organisation details, your packaging data and paid your registration fees, you can submit your registration application.
The regulator cannot consider your registration application until you have provided your packaging data.
Find out more about registering with the regulators, including more details about fees.
Reporting your packaging data
You’ll use the service to upload and submit another CSV file containing your packaging data.
You must use a fixed set of categories and codes to report your data, as follows:
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You must record all of your drinks containers as ‘household drinks containers’.
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You do not need to split plastic into ‘rigid’ and ‘flexible’ packaging material - you just need to report it as ‘plastic’.
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Only use the codes SP (small organisation packaging - all) and HDC (household drinks containers) in your reporting.
Read more guidance that explains how to structure your data and what codes you must use.
There is a tool that will generate a packaging data file from the data that you have.
There are also example files that show you what a well-formed CSV looks like, although these illustrate large producer submissions at the moment.
Waste disposal fees and recycling obligations
As a small producer, you do not have to pay waste disposal fees or buy packaging waste recycling notes (commonly called ‘PRNs’).
Using a compliance scheme
Compliance schemes are third parties that help organisations meet the EPR for packaging requirements.
You’ll have to pay a fee to the compliance scheme for their services.
Compliance schemes can:
- pay your registration fees on your behalf
- report your packaging data
A compliance scheme cannot register your organisation on the service.
If you choose to work with a compliance scheme, you should make sure they appear on the compliance scheme public register.
Getting help
If you have any questions, contact your regulator or the EPR for packaging customer service team.
Environment Agency
Email: packagingproducers@environment-agency.gov.uk
Natural Resources Wales
Email: packaging@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Email: producer.responsibility@sepa.org.uk
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Email: packaging@daera-ni.gov.uk
Defra EPR for packaging customer service
Telephone: 0300 060 0002 Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm
Updates to this page
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Page updated to improve clarity and to include reference to the Regulatory Position statement issued by the Environment Agency about collecting and reporting paper and plastic bags supplied in England.
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Updating to explain that all drinks containers must be recorded as 'household drink containers', and adding details about packaging types to use, to match the information given in the 'Packaging data: what to collect for extended producer responsibility'.
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First published.