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Repak Material Costs Increase in 2021

If you are a member of Repak, you may already know that Repak costs for plastic materials are rising from July 2021 onwards. In this post, we take a look at the background to the reason for the fees increases and give you links to information that can help your business to convert more of your packaging to sustainable materials such as cartonboard.

Who are Repak?

Repak are an environmental not-for-profit organisation, with a social mission.

Their purpose, on behalf of their Members, is to “lead the recycling and sustainability of Ireland’s packaging waste; advocate for a new circular economy; and educate businesses and consumers on reducing and recycling packaging waste.”  Repak was set up in 1997 to help Member businesses meet their legal obligation to recycle the packaging they place on the Irish market. According to the Repak website, they have over 3,400 Members, whose fees fund household recycling bins, bottle banks, civic amenities and business back-door waste nationwide.

Dollard Packaging are members of Repak. In September 2020, Repak communicated to members that member fees would increase in the second half of 2021for some materials. As one might expect, the heaviest increases in fees are for packaging materials that cannot be recycled or packaging made of plastic.

Why are fees increasing?

The European Commission approved the Circular Economy Package (CEP) in May 2018 and it was transposed into Irish law in August 2020. The recent changes to the EU Waste Directive Legislation (2018/851) and its transposition into Irish Law through the EU Waste Directive Regulations 2020 (SI 323 of 2020) require that producers fees must meet the necessary costs of the collection and treatment of packaging it places on the market. The legislation also requires that fees vary depending on what type the packaging materials is. This depends on a number of criteria including the recyclability of the material.

One of the implications of the CEP is that plastic recycling targets will increase. These changes will have reporting and cost implications for businesses that place packaging on the market.

How have Repak calculated these new fees?

Repak and its members have been gathering additional data on plastics and beverage containers and declaring if the packaging materials are being recycled or not. They have also gathered additional data from Irish recovery operators on the costs of managing recycled/non-recycled materials. The new member plastic fees are based on the information gathered.

Material Fees Increases

The heaviest fee increases are for plastic packaging materials that cannot be recycled. If you are a Repak member, contact Repak to find out how your member fees will be affected from these changes. Repak: Ireland’s leading environmental not for profit organisation

Need advice on Improving Sustainability of your Cartons

If you are looking for ways to reduce/eliminate plastic from your packaging or to convert completely from plastic cartons to sustainable cartonboard, we can advise you on how to start this process, including sourcing sustainable, traceable materials for your packaging, what the various sustainable terms mean, how to demonstrate to your customers that your packaging is sustainable, and much more.

Contact us for a discussion about your sustainable packaging project on 01 847 0044 or sales@dollard-packaging.ie or read our blog on Sustainable Packaging – 8 Ways We can Help you | Dollard Packaging (dollard-packaging.ie)

Related articles: Check out our Sustainability Blogs here.

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