Fever-Tree has recently launched a legal challenge against the Environment Agency (EA) over its application of the waste disposal fees under the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme to their glass bottles supplied to pubs, bars and restaurants.

Background

The pEPR scheme has been implemented under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 (Regulations) and has been phased in across the UK since April 2025. It is part of the UK’s wider environmental strategy to reduce waste and support a more circular economy by shifting the full cost of managing household packaging waste from taxpayers to the companies that produce and place packaging on the market that constitute primary or shipment packaging.

This scheme enforces the “polluter pays” principle and is overseen by PackUK. The obligated producers under this scheme pay “waste disposal fees” covering the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling household packaging waste. Producers of non-household waste, which include industrial and commercial waste, are exempted from paying this fee. Under the pEPR scheme, producers of packaging must:

  • Register as a producer with the appropriate agency
  • Maintain records, conduct monitoring and report on their obligations under the Regulations
  • Pay modulated disposal costs based on the amount of packaging they produce and its impact on the environment

Household vs. non-household waste

The key distinction at the centre of Fever-Tree’s legal challenge against the EA is that the fee only applies to household packaging, not to non-household packaging. This makes the classification of packaging waste fundamental due to the significant financial implications of complying with the pEPR scheme.

Primary packaging and shipment packaging must normally be classed as household waste under the Regulations. Primary packaging is defined as “packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase” (Regulation 7(1)(a)) and therefore includes items such as bottles for beverages; jars or tins for food items; and individual poly bags or wrappers for retail goods. Shipment packaging is defined as packaging that is “on, or that is used to contain, items which are supplied or are intended to be supplied to a consumer” (Regulation 7(4)) and therefore includes items such as cardboard shipping boxes, bubble wrap and mailer bags. The main characteristic of these types of packaging for their classification as household packaging is their capacity to potentially end up in a household or public bin.

However, the Regulations allow under Regulation 8(2) for primary and shipment packaging to be classed as non-household in certain circumstances:

  • It is supplied to a business or public institution that is the end user of the packaging, or that supplies goods to an end user with all of the packaging removed.
  • It is supplied for a product designed only for use by a business or a public institution, and the packaging is not reasonably likely to be disposed of in a household bin or a public bin.
  • The packaging is imported into the UK by an importer and discarded by them.

Businesses should be able to collect and provide enough evidence if they want to rely on any of the above conditions to be able to avoid the classification of their packaging as household waste, and this evidence must be kept for at least seven years.

The Government and the EA have published guidance with examples of evidence accepted: legally binding agreements prohibiting the supply of packaging, customer sales records, or signed customer declarations confirming that packaging is not supplied to others, among others.

The legal challenge

Fever-Tree claims that its 200mL glass bottles distributed to bars and restaurants should be classified as non-household packaging and therefore be exempted from the pEPR fees. To justify its position, Fever-Tree argues that these specific glass bottles are typically collected and recycled through commercial waste streams, rather than by the local authority, and that pubs and restaurants are the end users.

Fever-Tree accepts the application of the pEPR levy on bottles it sells to supermarkets; however, it argues that the application of the pEPR scheme to its “on-trade” bottles goes against the government’s approach to other packaging regulations.

As the financial implications of the classification are huge, Fever-Tree has made a £2.8 million provision in its 2025/2026 financial accounts in anticipation of the potential charge to comply with the pEPR scheme.

The result of this legal challenge will have a significant impact on the glass and drinks industries, and any producer supplying to hospitality businesses, due to the interpretation decision. Additionally, the result will have potentially significant financial implications depending on how this packaging is finally classified.

If impacted clients require further guidance or advice on the pEPR scheme and its application, please contact our Environmental, Safety & Health team.

The authors would like to thank Isy Moir (trainee) for her contribution to this piece.