The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published new fee proposals for the second year (2026/2027) of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. For the first time, the plans include modulated fees (green, amber, red), which are linked to the recyclability of packaging and are based on the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM).
Defra cautions that the currently published fees are preliminary; the final fees are to be set in June 2026, taking into account the data that obligated companies must submit by 1 April 2026.
From year 2 onwards, the previously applicable “base rate” corresponds to the amber rate. The red rate for packaging that is less recyclable according to RAM amounts to 1.2 times the amber fee in year 2. The green rate for particularly recyclable packaging is currently around 9 per cent below the amber fee.
The amber (base) fees for most packaging materials are higher than the values published in June 2025. Defra attributes this mainly to higher waste management costs incurred by local authorities as well as to lower-than-expected packaging volumes.
Among the material groups, fibre-based composite packaging shows the second-largest increase, rising by £64/t, after wood packaging. It also remains the packaging format subject to the highest fees, in some cases by a clear margin compared with plastic packaging.
However, according to the current state of data evaluation, 76 per cent of paper and board packaging is expected to be subject to the lowest (green) fee of £190/t. By contrast, for fibre-based composite packaging, around 50 per cent of reported volumes fall under the amber base fee (£525/t).
For the majority of packaging made of glass, aluminium and steel, the lowest fee is also expected to apply, while plastic, wood and other packaging are predominantly expected to be subject to the highest – red – fee.
Defra has also set out the further development of the red rate: it is to rise to 1.6 times the amber fee in year 3 (2027/2028) and to double the amber fee in the following year (2028/2029).
By contrast, the green fee is not defined as a fixed discount on the amber base fee. Instead, it is calculated based on the distribution of reported packaging volumes across the green, amber and red categories within each respective packaging format.
