UK regulators have intervened in the packaging recycling evidence market after tighter accreditation and enforcement rules reduced the availability of Packaging Waste Recycling Notes (PRNs) and Packaging Waste Export Recycling Notes (PERNs). Regulatory Position Statements issued on 9 October respond to concerns that some producers and compliance schemes could otherwise struggle to demonstrate compliance with their 2026 recycling obligations.
For three materials, regulators will normally refrain from enforcement action where businesses meet reduced thresholds:
- Plastic: at least 83% of the statutory recycling obligation.
- Steel: at least 92% of the statutory obligation.
- Wood: at least 90% of the statutory obligation.
Full compliance remains required for all other packaging materials. The Environment Agency’s Regulatory Position Statement 383 states that the statutory obligations have not been amended. Businesses that satisfy the RPS conditions will normally avoid enforcement action for falling short of the original targets for plastic, steel and wood, but Certificates of Compliance will still record non-compliance where the statutory obligations have not been met. Companies relying on the position must keep supporting records for five years, meet their full obligations for other materials and comply with all other requirements. The intervention applies only to the 2026 compliance year.
Why evidence supply tightened
The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) said the intervention followed changes introduced during 2026 to strengthen the integrity of the PRN/PERN system. These included tighter accreditation requirements for reprocessors and exporters, a new fit-and-proper-person test, more enforcement activity and revised export rules under which PERNs can be issued only after packaging waste reaches the overseas reprocessing facility.
Defra said the measures had improved transparency and helped tackle fraud and error, but had also reduced the number of accredited reprocessors and exporters and increased the time needed to issue PERNs, constraining the supply of recycling evidence. The FPA said the need for regulators to intervene raised serious questions about how the system is managed and how future targets are set.
The association said it supported efforts to eliminate fraud and error, and that stronger accreditation, verification and transparency were essential to confidence. It argued, however, that if improving the integrity of recycling evidence exposed a substantial shortfall in availability, that should prompt a fundamental examination of the assumptions behind recycling targets.
2027 review and DRS pressure
Defra described the circumstances as exceptional and committed to reviewing recycling targets for 2027. That review is expected to take account of the introduction of deposit return schemes (DRS) and the delayed mandatory kerbside collection of plastic film in England, now scheduled for April 2030.
The FPA said DRS would be particularly significant. Under current arrangements, in-scope PET plastic bottles and aluminium and steel drinks cans collected through DRS will no longer generate PRNs or PERNs. That removes valuable, relatively high-quality material from the existing recycling evidence market, even though it will continue to be recycled through the new scheme. Unless targets and obligations reflect the change, producers could face further difficulty securing enough evidence to demonstrate compliance, the association warned.
The FPA also drew a distinction between relief from enforcement and resolution of the underlying compliance problem. It noted that statutory obligations remain unchanged and that businesses meeting the reduced thresholds could still have non-compliance recorded against them, adding that companies need clarity about the practical implications.
The association argued that the 2027 review must go beyond adjusting percentages. It should establish whether targets are supported by demonstrable domestic and overseas recycling capacity and reliable evidence supply, account for DRS starting in October 2027 and reflect the delayed kerbside collection of plastic film. The FPA also called for the assessments to be transparent and open to industry scrutiny.
Longer-term reform of the PRN/PERN system remains under consideration after a consultation on measures intended to improve transparency, reduce fraud and create a more level playing field between UK reprocessors and exporters. The FPA said producers were already facing financial and administrative pressure from the wider packaging reform programme and should not also face unpredictable compliance costs caused by a mismatch between regulatory obligations and the evidence market. It said the test of the government’s response would be whether it delivers a more stable, credible and achievable system for 2027 and beyond.