Table of Contents
- EPR and the Drinks Industry
- Obligation Thresholds
- Drinks Packaging Types
- EPR Fee Comparison by Format
- DRS and EPR Interaction
- Data Collection for Drinks Brands
- Cost Reduction Strategies
- Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Drinks manufacturers with £1M+ turnover and 25+ tonnes of packaging must comply with packaging EPR — most will far exceed these thresholds.
- PET bottles, aluminium cans, and glass bottles are the three dominant formats, each with different EPR fee rates.
- The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will interact with EPR for drinks containers — some packaging may be exempt from EPR fees if covered by DRS.
- Multi-pack packaging (cardboard sleeves, shrink wrap, can rings) adds significant tonnage and is often overlooked.
- Lightweight innovations (thinner cans, lighter bottles) deliver meaningful EPR savings at scale.
EPR and the Drinks Industry
The UK drinks industry — spanning soft drinks, water, juices, energy drinks, dairy drinks, and more — is one of the most packaging-intensive sectors in the economy. Billions of bottles, cans, and cartons are placed on the UK market annually, and under packaging EPR, the companies behind them must pay for their environmental impact.
For drinks manufacturers, EPR costs can be substantial. A brand placing 100 million PET bottles on the market faces tonnage in the thousands — and fees to match. Understanding and managing these costs is essential for competitiveness.
For EPR fundamentals, see what packaging EPR is.
Obligation Thresholds
- Annual turnover of £1 million or more
- Handle 25 or more tonnes of packaging per year
Virtually every commercial drinks manufacturer or brand owner exceeds these thresholds. A small craft soft drinks brand selling 500,000 bottles per year at 30g per bottle generates 15 tonnes from bottles alone — add caps, labels, multi-pack packaging, and transit packaging and the total easily exceeds 25 tonnes.
See who needs to register for full details.
Drinks Packaging Types
Primary Packaging
- PET bottles — the dominant soft drinks format (250ml-2L)
- Glass bottles — premium drinks, craft products
- Aluminium cans — standard 330ml and 500ml formats
- Steel cans — less common, some larger formats
- Cartons (Tetra Pak) — juice, milk, smoothies
- Pouches — children’s drinks, juice
- Caps and closures — HDPE or PP caps on bottles
- Labels — shrink sleeves, paper labels, pressure-sensitive labels
Secondary Packaging
- Cardboard multi-pack sleeves — 4-pack, 6-pack wraps
- Shrink wrap — multi-pack film wrapping
- Can rings/yokes — plastic or cardboard can carriers
- Cardboard trays — shelf-ready packaging
Transit Packaging
- Corrugated cases — shipping boxes
- Stretch wrap — pallet wrap
- Pallet sheets — interlayer sheets
- Shrink wrap — pallet overwrap
EPR Fee Comparison by Format
| Packaging Format | Unit Weight (approx.) | Material | Fee per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|
| PET bottle (500ml) | 22g | Plastic | £360 |
| PET bottle cap | 3g | Plastic | £360 |
| Shrink sleeve label | 2g | Plastic | £360-440 |
| Aluminium can (330ml) | 14g | Aluminium | £230 |
| Glass bottle (330ml) | 200g | Glass | £192 |
| Tetra Pak carton | 30g | Fibre-composite | £461 |
| Cardboard multi-pack | 25g | Paper/card | £215 |
| Shrink wrap multi-pack | 5g | Plastic | £360 |
Cost per Million Units
| Format | EPR Cost per Million Units (approx.) |
|---|---|
| PET 500ml + cap + label | £9,700 |
| Aluminium 330ml can | £3,220 |
| Glass 330ml bottle + cap + label | £40,000 |
| Tetra Pak 1L carton | £13,830 |
Glass bottles have the highest per-unit EPR cost due to their weight, despite having the lowest fee rate per tonne.
For all fee rates, see the EPR fees by material type guide.
DRS and EPR Interaction
The UK’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will apply to drinks containers and interact directly with packaging EPR:
- Drinks containers in scope of DRS may be exempt from EPR fees (to avoid double charging)
- Multi-pack packaging and transit packaging will remain under EPR regardless of DRS
- The exact interaction between DRS and EPR is still being finalised — check current guidance
This means drinks manufacturers will need to manage compliance under both regimes. For DRS details, see our Deposit Return Scheme guide and DRS impact on drinks businesses.
Data Collection for Drinks Brands
Leveraging Production Data
Drinks manufacturers typically have precise production data, making EPR data collection more straightforward than in many sectors:
- Use your filling line data — exact counts of bottles, cans, and cartons produced
- Obtain packaging specs from suppliers — weights per component (bottle, cap, label, case)
- Calculate total tonnage — units produced x component weight
- Add multi-pack packaging — sleeves, shrink wrap, can carriers
- Add transit packaging — cases, pallet wrap, sheets
- Split by nation using distribution data
Contract Packing
If you use contract packers (co-packers), clarify who holds the EPR obligation:
- Your brand, their facility: you are typically obligated
- Their brand, your brand licence: check contractual arrangements
Multi-Pack Calculations
Multi-pack packaging is often forgotten. A 6-pack cardboard sleeve at 25g across 20 million multi-packs is 500 tonnes of packaging. Shrink wrap at 5g per multi-pack adds another 100 tonnes.
For reporting guidance, see how to report packaging data to DEFRA.
Cost Reduction Strategies
1. Lightweight Containers
The drinks industry has been lightweighting for decades, but further gains are possible:
- PET bottles: Newer preform designs can reduce weight by 10-15%
- Aluminium cans: Modern can technology achieves sub-13g for 330ml
- Glass bottles: Lightweight glass options exist but require supply chain buy-in
At the volumes drinks companies operate, even 1g per unit makes a significant tonnage difference.
2. Switch Multi-Pack Format
- Cardboard sleeves instead of shrink wrap (lower fee rate)
- Cardboard can carriers instead of plastic ring carriers (already happening industry-wide)
- Reduced-material sleeve designs — partial wraps instead of full wraps
3. Optimise Labels
- Direct printing on cans eliminates labels entirely
- Paper labels instead of plastic shrink sleeves (lower fee rate)
- Smaller labels reduce material usage
4. Improve Transit Efficiency
- Higher-count cases reduce per-unit cardboard usage
- Tray-and-shrink can sometimes use less material than full cases
- Optimised pallet patterns reduce stretch wrap usage
5. Investigate Refill and Reuse
Refillable glass bottles and reusable packaging systems are emerging in the UK drinks market. While not yet mainstream, they could significantly reduce EPR obligations for early adopters.
Plastic Packaging Tax
Drinks manufacturers using PET bottles with less than 30% recycled content must also pay the Plastic Packaging Tax at £210.82 per tonne. This is separate from EPR fees. Most major drinks brands now exceed 30% rPET to avoid this tax.
See EPR vs Plastic Packaging Tax for the differences.
Getting Started
- Verify your obligation with the EPR compliance checklist
- Compile packaging specifications for every container format
- Calculate tonnage using production data
- Register with a compliance scheme
- Submit data to DEFRA and monitor DRS developments
Use the EPR fee calculator to estimate costs and explore our pricing for compliance tools.