What is Extended Producer Responsibility?

EPR makes producers financially responsible for the collection, sorting and recycling of the packaging they place on the market. Fees are paid to a producer responsibility organisation or government scheme based on the material and tonnage placed on the market.

Who is an obligated producer under UK pEPR?

Under UK packaging EPR, a business is fully obligated if it has annual turnover of GBP 2 million or more and handles 50 tonnes or more of packaging. Smaller producers above GBP 1 million turnover and 25 tonnes have lighter reporting duties; the smallest are exempt.

What is eco-modulation?

Eco-modulation adjusts EPR fees up or down based on recyclability — hard-to-recycle materials pay a higher per-tonne rate, while easily recycled materials pay less. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation mandates modulated fees across member states.

Are EPR fees the same across the EU?

No. Each EU member state runs its own EPR scheme with its own per-tonne tariffs, so the same packaging can cost different amounts in France, Germany or Spain. This tool gives indicative ranges, not country-specific official tariffs.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The estimate uses built-in indicative rates and runs entirely in your browser. No material, tonnage or turnover data is transmitted or stored.

Extended Producer Responsibility Fee Estimator

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) shifts the cost of end-of-life packaging from local authorities to the producers who put it on the market. Fees are charged per tonne, modulated by how recyclable each material is. This free estimator gives an indicative annual EPR fee from your material, tonnage and jurisdiction, and tells you whether you are an obligated producer or below the small-business thresholds. It is built for compliance managers, brand owners and procurement teams.

How it works

The estimate combines three elements:

Obligation thresholds — under UK packaging EPR, a producer is fully obligated at turnover ≥ GBP 2 million and ≥ 50 tonnes of packaging; a lighter “small producer” band applies at ≥ GBP 1 million and ≥ 25 tonnes; below that you are exempt. The tool applies these to flag your status.
Base per-tonne rate — each material carries a different indicative base rate (plastic and composites are dearest; glass, paper and metal are cheaper), reflecting collection and treatment cost.
Eco-modulation — recyclable materials get a discount factor and hard-to-recycle composites a surcharge, mirroring the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s modulated-fee principle and UK pEPR’s recyclability assessment.

Estimated fee = tonnage × base rate × eco-modulation factor, shown alongside your obligation status. Because every EU member state sets its own tariffs, the figure is a planning estimate, not an invoice.

Notes and example

A brand placing 80 tonnes of rigid plastic on the UK market with GBP 5 million turnover is fully obligated. At an indicative GBP 350/tonne base with a 1.0 modulation factor, that is roughly GBP 28,000/year before scheme-specific adjustments. The same 80 tonnes in paper at GBP 120/tonne and a 0.8 recyclable factor is about GBP 7,680/year. A 10-tonne, GBP 800k-turnover producer is below the UK thresholds and treated as exempt.

These are indicative rates for budgeting; obtain official tariffs from your producer responsibility organisation per country. EPR is separate from, and additional to, the UK Plastic Packaging Tax. Everything is computed locally.