Packaging data: how to create your file for extended producer responsibility

If you’re an organisation that supplies packaging to consumers and businesses in the UK, you may have to take action to comply with extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging.

You may need to collect and submit data about packaging you’ve supplied through the UK market, or any filled packaging you have importedimported, emptied and discarded in the UK.

Find out if you need to collect and report your packaging data.

You may also have to report data about which country in the UK packaging is supplied in and which country in the UK packaging is discarded in. This is called nation data.

Find out if you need to submit nation data.

Guidance on how to submit nation data will be published separately.

When you need to take action

For organisations in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland – if you have to take action, you must start collecting the correct packaging data from 1 March 2023.

For organisations in Wales – there will be an additional option to start collecting data from 17 July 2023, the date the regulations came into force in Wales.

Find out how to collect your packaging data for EPR.

Large organisations need to submit data every 6 months. Small organisations submit data once a year.

Find out if you are a small or large organisation for EPR for packaging.

DeadlinesLarge organisations: submission dates

If you’re a large organisation under EPR for reportingpackaging, you’ll need to submit your packaging data

In England,between Scotland16 August 2023 and Northern1 Ireland:October 2023.

• small

  This organisationsmust shouldcover submitthe byperiod 1 AprilMarch 2024

• large2023 organisationsto reporting30 June 2023. If you have the required data for the period 1 January 2023 to June28 2023February 2023, you should submitalso byinclude 1it Octoberin 2023
• largethis organisationssubmission.

  For reportingthe forperiod from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 20232023, shouldyou’ll need to submit byyour data between 1 AprilJanuary 2024

TheseLarge deadlinesorganisations arein laidWales outshould incomply with this reporting schedule if they have the regulations.required Youdata. If they do not have the required data, they should makestart yourcollecting bestdata effortfrom to17 meetJuly them2023, butthe nodate enforcementthe actionregulations willcame beinto takenforce ifin dataWales. isThey submittedmust bysubmit 31it Maybetween 1 January 2024 and 1 April 2024.

Small organisations: submission dates

InIf Wales,you’re largea small organisation under EPR for packaging, you’ll need to submit your data between 1 January 2024 and small1 April 2024.

This must cover the period 1 March 2023 to 31 December 2023. If you have the required data for the period 1 January 2023 to 28 February 2023, you should also include it in this submission.

Small organisations in Wales should comply with this reporting schedule if they have the required data. If they do not have the required data, they should start collecting data from July 17 2023, the date the regulations came into force in Wales. They must submit byit between 1 January 2024 and 1 April 2024.

What this guidance covers

This guidance is for:

• organisations that need to collect and submit data about packaging they’ve supplied or imported through the UK market
• compliance schemes who report packaging data for their member organisations

It explains:

• the different types of data you’ll need to submit about packaging you’ve supplied
• how to structure your data submission file
• the codes you should use in your data file

Help making your file

If you need help creating a packaging data CSV, you can use the ‘generate a packaging data file’ tool to:

• generate a valid packaging data file
• check how your file should be structured before creating one yourself

Example of a packaging data file

You can also use the example packaging data file to see how you should structure your data submission.

 How to submit your data

Submit your data using the ‘report packaging data’ service.

Get help and give feedback

If you have any questions, email the packaging team at pEPR@defra.gov.uk.

 Tell us what you think

You can give feedback about this guidance and the rest of the EPR guidance - let us know if anything is unclear or incorrect.