The United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) has appointed Dr. Margaret Bates to the role of Head for the UK Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging Scheme Administrator.
Bates is currently managing director of OPRL, a not-for-profit company which helps businesses to access on-pack recycling and refill labels. She will take up the new role on secondment for up to two years.
The UK EPR scheme will move the cost of dealing with packaging waste away from the taxpayer and on to packaging producers, who will pay for the full cost of managing packaging waste from households. Producers will thus be incentivised to use less packaging, to use packaging that can be recycled, and to meet higher recycling targets.
The scheme’s start-up has been postponed from October 2024 to 2025, in a move which drew heavy criticism. Bates will be responsible for the implementation and readiness of the Scheme Administrator – the cornerstone for the delivery of the EPR scheme from 2025.
“This role is a huge opportunity to act as a catalyst for the whole industry to continue to create an effective EPR, ensuring that the responsibility for dealing with packaging waste is moved fairly on to producers, while also protecting the environment,” said Bates. “Most of all, I hope to listen, and channel my experience of the issues facing the many varied stakeholders, to deliver a scheme that works – within the agreed timescales, and with common purpose.”
Bates has led OPRL since 2020. Previously, she was Professor of Sustainable Waste Management at the University of Northampton. She has been involved in waste management for over 30 years and has a PhD on landfill microbiology.