Hospitality businesses say ‘nonsensical’ packaging rules will cost millions

March 20, 2025

The ‘flawed’ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme will force businesses to pay twice for recycling, and pass the cost onto consumers.

Leading pub and hospitality businesses have joined with UKHospitality to write to Steve Reed, the Defra Secretary of State, to call for packaging supplied to hospitality businesses to be exempt from EPR.

The likes of the Azzurri Group, Burger King UK, Fuller’s, Marston’s, Punch Pubs & Co, St Austell Brewery, Stonegate Group and Wells & Co have signed the letter.

'Poor policy'

It highlights how, as a result of poor policy design, bottles of beer and wine are incorrectly classified as household waste and subject to a packaging levy, despite not ever leaving the hospitality premises.

This levy, charged to suppliers, is being passed directly onto hospitality venues, who are also paying to recycle the products commercially. This will cost the hospitality sector millions in additional cost, with individual pubs seeing cost increases of around £2,000 annually.

Hospitality venues will have no choice but to pass this ‘double charge’ onto consumers.

Read the full letter to the Secretary of State here.

The letter said: “The consequences of the flawed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme are now being felt by the hospitality sector. Bills from suppliers are now being received, resulting in significant cost increases as a result of EPR.

“Medium sized outlets are seeing increases nearing £750 and a small venue up to £350 per year. Larger pubs will see increases of around £2,000. This is in addition to their commercial waste contracts.

“Hospitality businesses will be forced to pass at least some of the additional cost of this EPR fee onto their customers, as their suppliers have done to them.

“Hospitality businesses are being double-charged. They are being passed on an EPR charge, levied on a product incorrectly determined as household waste, and they’re also paying for that same product to be disposed of commercially.

“This is non-sensical. EPR is designed to recover costs for the collection of household waste. The vast majority of packaging supplied to hospitality businesses is not leaving the premises and should not be considered as ‘household’ waste.

“Packaging supplied directly from suppliers to hospitality businesses, particularly closed-loop businesses, should not be levied with EPR charges.”