United Kingdom
The UK reshaped its biggest producer duty in 2025 and handles foreign sellers differently from the EU. UK EPR compliance means registering the right stream in the right service, with packaging fees now live and no authorised representative for packaging or batteries.
Four streams carry duties, each with its own register. Packaging is the one that changed most, with full producer fees arriving in 2025.
What carries EPR in the UK
Packaging, electronics, batteries and end-of-life vehicles carry active duties. Single-use plastics are partly in through product bans, and textiles are only a policy direction so far.
Packaging is the headline. UK-wide packaging EPR came into force on 1 January 2025. Producers had to register and report their 2024 data by 1 April 2025, and PackUK invoices the first packaging fees from October 2025. Thresholds run by turnover and tonnage.
Electronics have run under the current WEEE regulations since 2014, with vapes moved into their own category in August 2025. Batteries still run on the 2009 rules, with a reform consultation expected.
Which service you use
The UK splits its registers by stream.
- Packaging reports through RPD, the Report Packaging Data service run by Defra, where you register with your environmental regulator. PackUK is the scheme administrator that sets and invoices the disposal fees.
- Batteries register on NPWD, the National Packaging Waste Database.
- Electronics register through the WEEE online service, or through the producer's compliance scheme.
- End-of-life vehicles register with Defra.
Who the duty falls on
Producers and importers meeting the thresholds are in scope, and the UK handles overseas sellers in its own way.
The UK has no authorised-representative concept for packaging or batteries. Only a business established in the UK is obliged, so for goods from a seller abroad the duty falls on the UK importer, or on the online marketplace for items sold through it.
Electronics work differently. A non-UK business selling directly to UK users must appoint a UK authorised representative or join a compliance scheme, and since August 2025 an online marketplace is the producer for what non-UK sellers sell to UK households through it.
What is coming
The near-term calendar runs from deposits to textiles:
- October 2027: a deposit-return scheme for drinks containers starts in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales runs its own scheme from the same date, with glass included.
- Batteries: a Defra consultation on reformed battery rules is expected, but no new regulation is published yet and no start date is set.
- Textiles: an industry blueprint published in early 2026 calls for a mandatory scheme, with a government timetable expected to follow.
Frequently asked questions about EPR in the UK
Short answers to what producers ask most.
What is EPR in the UK?
Producer responsibility across four active streams, split between the RPD packaging service, the WEEE online service for electronics, the NPWD register for batteries, and Defra for vehicles.
What is the UK EPR register?
There is no single one. Packaging uses RPD, electronics use the WEEE online service, batteries use NPWD, and vehicle producers register with Defra.
Do foreign sellers need a UK representative?
For electronics, yes, unless you join a UK compliance scheme yourself. Packaging and batteries have no representative at all: without a UK presence, your UK importer or the marketplace you sell through carries the duty.
Is packaging EPR live in the UK?
Yes. UK-wide packaging EPR came into force in January 2025. Registration and data reporting were due by April 2025, and PackUK invoices the first producer fees from October 2025.
Does the UK have a deposit return scheme?
Not yet. A deposit-return scheme for drinks containers starts on 1 October 2027.