The Environment Agency has announced two important updates to its regulatory position statements (RPSs) under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
The changes provide additional flexibility for producers and compliance schemes in England through an extension of RPS 330 and the introduction of a new RPS 377.
Here is what packaging producers need to know.
The Environment Agency has extended RPS 330 to cover data for 2026 and 2027.
Under the extended position, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action where producers fail to collect and report:
The regulatory position now applies to data covering 2024 to 2027.
These reporting requirements remain part of the Packaging Regulations. However, producers will not normally face enforcement action for failing to collect or report the specified data where the conditions of RPS 330 are met.
Importantly, the RPS does not affect any other legal requirements under the Packaging Regulations.
The Environment Agency has confirmed that the existing RPS 330 guidance will be updated shortly to reflect the extension.
The Environment Agency is also introducing RPS 377, a new regulatory position statement applying to large producers that permanently cease to perform a producer function during the year.
Ordinarily, a large producer that ceases to perform a producer function part way through a year could still be required to register and report its H1 packaging data by 1 October, despite having no recycling or disposal fee obligations in the following year.
Under RPS 377, the Environment Agency will not normally pursue enforcement action in relation to that registration and reporting requirement where the producer has permanently ceased to perform a producer function.
For example, a large producer that ceases to perform a producer function in June 2026 would ordinarily be required to register and report its H1 2026 data by 1 October 2026. Provided the Environment Agency agrees that RPS 377 applies, it would not normally take enforcement action if the producer did not register or make that submission.
In practical terms, the RPS means that affected producers may avoid having to register, report data and pay registration fees in October where they will have no recycling or disposal fee obligations in the following relevant year.
However, this position is not automatic. The business must:
Businesses should not rely on RPS 377 or change their reporting arrangements until they have received this agreement.
The Environment Agency has confirmed that RPS 377 will be published shortly.
For producers in England, the updates provide welcome flexibility around specific data and reporting obligations.
However, an RPS does not remove or amend the underlying legislation. It sets out the circumstances in which the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action. Producers should therefore continue to meet all requirements not specifically covered by an applicable RPS.
Both RPS 330 and RPS 377 apply in England only. Producers and compliance schemes operating in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should contact their relevant environmental regulator for information about the applicable position.
Clarity members that believe RPS 377 may apply to their business should contact us before changing their registration or reporting arrangements.
The revised RPS 377 example is the most important change: it keeps the practical benefit clear without saying that the legal reporting requirement itself has disappeared.
