This new change is due to recently released Government regulations, which the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) warned was equivalent to the loss of 5,000 jobs.
The BBPA criticised the new EPR regime as “chaotic,” arguing it will result in pubs being charged twice for the same recycling of glass bottles.
Significant financial impact
Under the new rules, glass packaging sold within pubs will be classified as household waste, despite already being recycled under commercial waste arrangements.
Suppliers will pass on these additional costs to pubs. The BBPA estimated pubs, which currently pay around £1,100 annually for commercial recycling, will now face an extra £1,400 per year for the same glass bottles under household waste fees.
This extra £60m bill coincides with cuts to business rates relief, increased employer national insurance rates, and rises in the national minimum and living wage. All aspects which further exacerbate the financial strain on the hospitality sector.
Industry concerns
The BBPA has written to the Government, highlighting the “devastating impact” of the new fee.
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin, stated that the new EPR regime “bears no link to reality” and consisted of “unfair fees and confusing rules that are being chaotically implemented.”
She argued the additional costs will also damage the already “wafer-thin profits that brewers and pubs make and jeopardise jobs and growth.”
The BBPA urged the Government to review these costs to ensure fair and sensible implementation, warning that the higher costs could force an extra £154m per year, or 5p per glass bottle on the sector.
McClarkin also questioned the sustainability of pubs paying twice for recycling when, she said: “virtually all glass sold in pubs is already collected and recycled.”
