UK packaging EPR base fees 2026-27 (PackUK)

How fees are set

PackUK — Scheme administrator for the four-nation UK packaging EPR scheme (pEPR), under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.

PackUK administers extended producer responsibility for packaging across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Large producers pay waste disposal fees per tonne by material. Year 1 (2025-26) charged flat base fees. From Year 2 (2026-27) fees are modulated by the Recycling Assessment Methodology (RAM): amber equals the base fee, red is 1.2x amber, and green carries a data-dependent discount (illustratively -9%). The Year 2 figures published so far are illustrative; PackUK's confirmed fees follow the producer data reporting cycle.

Declaration basis: GBP per tonne of household packaging placed on the market. Official rates page: gov.uk ↗ · About PackUK

Base fees vs modulated fees (UK, 2026)

For fibre-based composite the base fee is £525/tonne and a red RAM rating makes it £630/tonne — £105/tonne more for the same material (United Kingdom, 2026-27).

Where the table below shows more than one row for the same material, what separates them is the Recycling Assessment Methodology rating, not the packaging. Amber is the base fee itself; red and green are that same fee modulated — red at 1.2× amber, green at a discount whose level depends on reported data. The Type column says which of the three a row is, the Conditions column names the RAM colour that earns it, and the Source column links the figure as published.

What “illustrative” means for UK rates in 2026-27

Illustrative is the status GOV.UK gives a Year 2 fee published pending the confirmed one, so an illustrative figure is not the confirmed charge. The caption above the table and each row's Source cell name the publication a figure came from. The amounts can still move: the rows say the green discount level depends on reported data. The structure does not — amber, red and green is how a Year 2 fee is built either way. When PackUK publishes confirmed Year 2 fees we add confirmed rows rather than overwrite the illustrative ones, so what was published when stays checkable.