Brexit – What next for the Packaging Regulations?

Brexit – What Next for the Packaging Waste Regulations in the UK?

Hightlight Text – DEFRA Recently held a Waste Management Industry Brexit ‘No Deal’ and realeased Guidance on how indutsry should best prepare for the event of a no deal with the EU.

Click for Q&A from event

DEFRA have also confirmed Packaging Waste Compliance Targets for 2020, and that the existing Packaging Compliance System will remain until the beinning of 2023, at least.

Further Consultations are expected in due course.

Not many would have predicted the Result of June the 24th 2016, where the UK voted to exit the European Union, we certainly didn’t! Picking ourselves up off the floor, we thought it would be useful to take a look at what the future may hold for Producer Responsibility Legislation in the UK and in particular the Packaging Waste Regulations post Brexit over the short to medium term.

In the UK we have enjoyed the challenge of implementing EU Legislation in a slightly different more efficient way to other Member States across the EU, so in many ways our Producer Responsibility System is already different. In Packaging Compliance, The PRN System is a good example of this, and arguably has been up to 10 times more cost effective for Business than other systems in other EU Countries.

This Legislation is now enshrined into UK law and its difficult to see how or why the Government would / could make any immediate changes.

As a sector, the Environmental Compliance Market can take the next few years as a period to review the current Producer Responsibility  Systems, and take the opportunity to consider what works and what needs to be changed.

Short Term – No Change

In the short term, the UK remains a Full Member of the European Union which means there will be no change to the Legal Obligations placed on UK business, so to a certain extent its is business as usual. Once the UK invokes Clause 50 to leave the EU a 2 year exit period will start during which the UK remain a Full Member of the EU, with all the current financial and legal commitments that go with it. In all likely hood there will be no changes to the UK Packaging Waste Directive and Obligated Companies will still be required to go through the annual compliance process at least until 2017/18.

Hopefully we will get some sort of steer from Government later this year!???

Medium Term – Opportunity

Whilst it would be hard to imagine the Packaging Waste Directive being at the top of the Governments mountain of Legislative priorities, its highly unlikely the Government will choose to immediately dismantle an already fragile Environmental Policy Framework. There will however be a real opportunity to review existing policy and make any tweaks which may be required along the way.

Its highly likely that the proposals for Extended Producer Responsibility and the Circular Economy being sidelined for at least the medium term.

We would hope the new UK Government will want to send a strong message to the watching world that we remain a  responsible forward thinking Independent Nation, that can take a lead on Environmental and Recycling issues.

Watch this space for any developments. Far more importantly we hope your own personal / business challenges turn out positive.