The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) has asked the UK Government to work with businesses on packaging policy after the department for environment food and rural affairs (Defra) confirmed that Emma Hardy MP will oversee the circular economy and waste crime brief.
In a letter to the new environment minister, the trade body said packaging used in foodservice is part of the system that allows food and drink to be supplied safely across catering, education, healthcare, hospitality, retail and travel markets.
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However, it warned that reforms would only succeed if they were workable, based on evidence, fair to businesses and able to deliver environmental results.
It pointed to a series of measures, including packaging extended producer responsibility, the recyclability assessment methodology, deposit return schemes, simpler recycling and wider circular economy policy.
It said plastic packaging tax, while overseen by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) rather than Defra, added to the same compliance burden facing businesses.
The association said ministers should consider how these policies interact, so they do not overlap unnecessarily or undermine investment decisions.
Its letter listed five areas for early action.
On extended producer responsibility, the FPA called for a review of producer registration and enforcement, greater clarity on how fees are calculated, and stronger checks to ensure that all obligated businesses are paying.
It also requested for the publication of confidence measures within the producer base and for recyclability fee modulation to be delayed until confidence in the system has been established.
It also said future environmental rules should rely on life cycle evidence and whole system impacts rather than assumptions about particular materials.
On investment, the association said companies needed clear timetables, stable guidance and confidence that collection, sorting and reprocessing capacity would be available.
It referred to the delay to mandatory collections of plastic films and flexibles, as well as upcoming changes linked to pEPR, RAM, DRS, Simpler Recycling, digital waste tracking and Plastic Packaging Tax.
The letter called for policy that supports domestic manufacturing and avoids putting compliant UK producers at a disadvantage as costs rise.
Finally, the FPA said Defra should continue direct engagement with industry and noted that businesses could provide information on supply chains, costs, infrastructure and recycling performance.
The association said it wanted reform to proceed, but in a way that protects consumers from avoidable costs, supports manufacturing and gives companies enough certainty to invest.
Representing 130 manufacturers and distributors with a combined economic footprint of more than £27bn ($36.3bn) and 70,000 jobs, the FPA said it backed producer responsibility in principle.
