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 marketplaces, not authorised representatives, carrying the load for overseas sellers.
Four streams carry duties, split across three registers. 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 added as a new category and collection targets from 2026. 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 the Environment Agency. PackUK is the scheme administrator that sets and invoices the fees.
- Electronics and batteries sit in NPWD, the National Packaging Waste Database.
- 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. Instead, the online marketplace is treated as the producer for its non-UK sellers, so the platform carries the obligation rather than a local agent.
For electronics, online marketplace operators became producers for non-UK sellers from August 2025, and a non-UK operator must join a scheme or appoint a representative.
What is coming
The near-term calendar runs from deposits to textiles:
- October 2027: a deposit-return scheme for drinks containers is planned for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales is running its own separate scheme.
- 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 NPWD register for electronics and batteries, and Defra for vehicles.
What is the UK EPR register?
There is no single one. Packaging uses RPD, electronics and batteries use NPWD, and vehicle producers register with Defra.
Do foreign sellers need a UK representative?
Not in the EU sense. For packaging and electronics the online marketplace is treated as the producer for non-UK sellers, so the platform 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 is planned for October 2027.