PackUK Publishes Year 2 EPR for Packaging Illustrative Fees

PackUK, the Scheme Administrator for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) has just published Year 2 Illustrative Fees.

This publication will, for the first time, include an estimate of Red and Green fees, in addition to Amber fees (previously referred to as ‘base fees’), as a result of the implementation of the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM). By discounting green fees, for highly recyclable material, this publication demonstrates how much producers can save by switching to more recyclable packaging, rewarding sustainable design choices.

A modulation approach is being introduced, which aims to incentivise sustainable packaging design by linking fees to recyclability ratings:
• Green-rated packaging (widely recyclable) will attract lower fees
• Red-rated packaging (difficult to recycle) will incur higher fees
• Amber fees represent the baseline for materials without modulation

Many producers – particularly those using highly recyclable materials like glass and aluminium – will see their fees decrease through modulation as the green fee is below the year 1 base fee.

PackUK says it aims to be transparent in order to support informed investment decisions and encourage producers to move away from unrecyclable materials over time.

Confirmed Year 2 fees will be published in summer 2026, and the modulation framework will be reviewed after three years to consider additional sustainability factors.

For more information, see the latest government guidance.