The government has revealed rules for classifying different materials under a traffic-light system that will help determine fees under the extended producer responsibility regime.
Guidance published two days before Christmas sets out how packaging providers should report the products they place on the UK market.
Obligated organisations must use the new recyclability assessment methodology (RAM) to declare their materials. The detailed guidance includes equations and definitions to help producers come to a red, amber or green rating for their packaging.
Ministers said liable producers should report the results of the assessment to environmental regulators from the beginning of this year.
“This rating affects the disposal fee that will be charged for that packaging,” the government added.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in October published revised “illustrative base fees” for 2025/26 but a row over the level of the levy rumbled on. Councils claimed the latest fees were too low while producers demanded further cuts.
More than 80 companies signed a letter to ministers in October asking for implementation of extended producer responsibility to be put on hold.
But ministers in November promised councils more than £1 billion in the next financial year from the scheme, seemingly ending any debate over its introduction.
