Bulletin: EPR, alcohol pricing, food labelling

EPR update

The government has published illustrative base fees for year one of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. These are lower than the previous estimates published in August. This relates to all UK businesses that import or supply packaging and the costs of dealing with packaging waste. EPR aims to shift responsibility of packaging waste management costs from local authorities onto large producers.

IGD opinion
A reduction in estimated fees for most materials will likely be welcomed by food businesses.

However, the new data remains an estimate only and so some uncertainty remains.

The fees payable for glass in particular, (the densest material and therefore the costliest) may still be a concern for some food and drink businesses.

The table below shows possible costs for common glass items (item weights are IGD estimates and do not represent any particular brand or product).

Item

Fee, old estimate, intermediate

£260 per tonne

Fee, new estimate, intermediate

£175 per tonne

Beer bottle, 330ml – 200g

5p

4p

Wine bottle, 750ml – 500g

13p

9p

Champagne bottle, 750ml – 900g

23p

16p

Jam jar, 1lb size – 225g

6p

4p

Mustard jar – 100g size – 100g

3p

2p

Alcohol pricing

The Scottish government has announced that the minimum price per unit of alcohol has increased by 15p to 65p from 30 September.

The Scottish Health Secretary has also asked Public Health Scotland to “review evidence and options for reducing exposure to alcohol marketing.”

IGD opinion

Minimum per-unit pricing for alcohol was introduced in Scotland in May 2018, after several legal challenges.

The aim was to raise the price of the cheapest, strongest drinks – the types favoured by those who use alcohol harmfully.

A Public Health Scotland report published in June 2023 suggests that the policy has been successful in its aim of reducing harm from excessive drinking.

The original law included a “sunset” provision that would end the policy after 6 years unless specifically extended.

The move to increase minimum pricing – and therefore extend the rule – comes as little surprise.

The initial minimum price was 50p per unit – this is the first time that it has increased, rising by 30% to 65p per unit.

The cost of living in the UK has increased by about 30% since May 2018 (measured via CPI), so the revised minimum price has been adjusted to account for inflation.

Food labelling

The government has announced that they will not proceed with the introduction of UK wide ‘not for EU’ labelling from the beginning of October 2024. The government has stated that “we will continue to monitor the UK Internal Market to track, and if necessary, intervene to protect the availability of goods in Northern Ireland.”

EU travel

The EU plans to introduce an Entry/Exit system (EES) from November 2024. Anyone travelling to a country in the Schengen area will need to register biometric details, such as fingerprints or a photo.