PackUK has released an updated Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM), setting out the framework that producers will need to apply to household packaging supplied in 2027 under the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime.
The 2027 version of the methodology will be used to judge whether packaging is classed as red, amber or green for recyclability.
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Those results feed into fee modulation under the scheme.
The update applies only to packaging placed on the market in 2027 and does not change reporting requirements for 2025 or 2026.
For current reporting periods, producers are still required to use RAM version 1.1, while preparing to move to RAM 2027 for the next reporting year.
Under the packaging EPR system, large producers are required by law to use the methodology to assess the recyclability of household packaging they supply.
They must submit the results of those assessments to environmental regulators together with their other packaging data.
The requirement covers household packaging including glass drinks containers used in households, as well as packaging that commonly ends up in public bins.
For reusable and refillable household packaging, an assessment is only required the first time the packaging is supplied.
RAM 2027 reviews packaging items and components across eight material categories through four main stages: collection, sortation, reprocessing and application.
Where producers want to state that packaging is “recycled at scale”, they must provide evidence that the packaging moves through those stages using existing and established infrastructure rather than pilot or experimental systems.
The assessment produces one of three ratings.
A red outcome applies where packaging features make large-scale recycling difficult, or where the item cannot move dependably through the current system because of problems in collection, sortation or reprocessing, or because there is no current end use within operational infrastructure.
An amber outcome applies where packaging may face collection issues, sorting difficulties, a need for specialist reprocessing infrastructure, reduced efficiency or output quality in reprocessing, or some loss of secondary material.
A green outcome applies where packaging is broadly recyclable within the current UK infrastructure.
Some packaging formats will receive a red rating automatically.
PackUK said that decision is based on existing UK regulations, recognised risk frameworks, and evidence of effects on recycling systems and material recovery.
Packaging treated as an automatic red cannot be counted as recyclable within EPR, even if it is technically recyclable, because that would create legal, chemical or system-level obstacles to safe and effective recycling.
The methodology will be revised annually and published before the start of each new reporting year, with updates based on evidence.
RAM 1.1 remains in place for the 1 January–31 December 2026 reporting period, with submission deadlines of 1 October 2026 for the first half and 1 April 2027 for the second half.
RAM 2027 covers the 1 January–31 December 2027 reporting period. The deadlines given are 1 October 2026 for H1 and 1 April 2028 for H2.
In the coming years, the recently appointed Producer Responsibility Organisation, UK Packaging PRO, will play a significant role in shaping the development of the RAM and further guidance for producers.
