Rules by country / United Kingdom / UK packaging EPR fees and plastic tax
UK packaging EPR fees 2026: what they cost each product
Producers pay PackUK a fee for every tonne of household packaging: £423 a tonne for plastic and £192 for glass in 2025/26. From 2026/27, hard-to-recycle packs pay more each year, up to twice the base fee. Plastic with less than 30% recycled content also pays £228.82 a tonne in tax. We work out what it costs each product and how to price for it.
EPR base fees for 2025/26 on household packaging, for large producers. From 2026/27 red-rated packs pay 20% more, rising to twice the base fee by 2028/29. Plastic Packaging Tax applies to makers and importers of 10 tonnes or more a year.
A cost pass-on plan for UK packaging fees
What the fees and the tax cost each product, and how much of it each price can carry, with a plan ready for the 2026/27 notices.
- The fees and tax on every product and pack
- Pass on, absorb or change the pack: the most profitable choice for each product, and how sure we are
- Which red-rated packs to change first
- A price plan for each retailer, and an Excel model to update when the confirmed fees arrive
How your results look
| Product | Fees and tax a pack | Our advice |
|---|---|---|
| Soft drink, 500ml PET bottle, 25g | 1.63p | Move to 30% recycled |
| Same bottle, 30% recycled | 1.06p | Pass on in full |
| Crisps, 20g of plastic film | 1.30p | Hold the price point |
Fictional products. Every real result comes with the expected sales and profit, and a likely range.
Your options
Every option has a fixed price, agreed before we start.
Cost pass-on plan
- What the fees and tax cost each product
- Price plan for each retailer
- Scenario model and a walk-through
Pricing review with the packaging costs
- Everything in the cost pass-on plan
- Prices and promotions for the whole range
- How your products take sales from each other
Portfolio review
- Everything in the pricing review
- More retailers and data sources
- A plan for each channel
After the project: a refresh before each pricing round, from £2,000.
How it works
From the first call to your plan in about three weeks.
A free 15-minute call
Tell us about your range. We say whether a review would pay for itself, and quote a fixed price.
Your data
Sales by product and retailer, recipes and costs. We sign an NDA before anything moves.
Your plan
The cost on every product, the best choice and a price plan, walked through with your team.
UK packaging EPR fees and plastic tax: the detail
Open only what you need.
- Who pays the fees
- Large producers, with a turnover over £2 million and more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year, on the household packaging they place on the UK market
- 2025/26 fees
- Per tonne: plastic £423, aluminium £266, glass £192, paper and card £196, steel £259, fibre-based composite £461, wood £280, other £259
- 2026/27 fees
- PackUK plans to calculate the confirmed fees in November 2026 and send notices by the end of the month
- Recyclability
- From 2026/27 packs are rated red, amber or green. Amber pays the base fee; red pays 20% more in 2026/27, 1.6 times in 2027/28 and 2 times in 2028/29; green pays less
- Plastic Packaging Tax
- £228.82 a tonne from 1 April 2026 (£223.69 before), on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic, for makers and importers of 10 tonnes or more a year
Pass it on
Raise the price by the tax or more. Works for products whose sales hold up when the price rises.
Absorb it
Keep the price and take the cost. Works when a rise would push a product past a key price point and lose more profit than the tax.
Change the pack
Moving a red-rated pack to amber or green, or to 30% recycled plastic, cuts the fee, the tax or both.
What are the UK packaging EPR fees for 2026?
The 2026/27 fees aren't confirmed yet: PackUK plans to calculate them in November 2026 and send notices by the end of the month. For 2025/26 they were £423 a tonne for plastic, £266 for aluminium, £192 for glass and £196 for paper and card. From 2026/27 red-rated packs pay more and green-rated packs less.
What is the plastic packaging tax rate in 2026?
£228.82 a tonne from 1 April 2026, on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic, for businesses that make or import 10 tonnes or more a year.
Who pays packaging EPR fees in the UK?
Large producers: businesses with a turnover over £2 million that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year. They pay fees on the household packaging they place on the UK market.
How much more will hard-to-recycle packaging cost?
Red-rated packs pay 20% more than the base fee in 2026/27, 1.6 times the base in 2027/28 and twice the base in 2028/29. Amber packs pay the base fee, and green packs less.
How much does a cost pass-on plan cost?
A review of up to 10 products has a fixed price from £7,500 and takes about three weeks. For 11 to 50 products, a full pricing review costs around £17,500. It starts with a free 15-minute call.
- GOV.UK, extended producer responsibility for packaging: 2025 base fees
- GOV.UK, Year 2 illustrative waste disposal fees (the red, amber and green ratings)
- Food and Drink Federation, extended producer responsibility overview
- Rodl and Partner, Plastic Packaging Tax: new rates (6 March 2026)
Checked on 25 October 2026. Rules and rates change, so check the official source before making decisions. This page is not tax advice.