The environmental regular has recently been contacting businesses which it believes are obligated producers who have registered directly with the Environment Agency, however, this should also apply to businesses which have not yet registered who meet the obligated producer criteria and as a result are required to purchase PRNs/PERNs.
What are PRNs and PERNs?
PRNs are Packaging Waste Recycling Notes and PERNs are Packaging Waste Export Recycling Notes.
‘Obligated producers’ are companies which meet both of the following criteria in the previous financial year:
- Turnover exceeding £2m
- Handling over 50 tonnes of packaging waste
These companies are required under the Producer Responsibility Obligation regulations to register, calculate their obligation, and buy PRNs to prove they have recycled and recovered packaging materials.
The number of PRNs a company needs to purchase is dependent on the amount of packaging waste they have produced. PRNs must be issued by an accredited recycler or exporter of waste and can be purchased either on the open market or through compliance scheme operators.
What are the changes?
Previously all management of packaging waste recycling notes (PRNs) and packaging waste export recycling notes (PERNs) for 2024 recycling obligations, up to and including the 31 January 2025, were done on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD). From February 2025 management of PRNs and PERNs for the 2025 recycling obligations, will be managed on the new EPR for Packaging digital service.
From 12th December 2024, you will see some changes in how NPWD looks as you interact with the service. In the 2024 compliance year ‘ePRNs Awaiting Acceptance’ page on NPWD, the red text displayed for December waste PRNs/PERNs has been amended to inform you to leave any December waste PRNs/PERNs you wish to use for the 2025 year as ‘Awaiting Acceptance’ on NPWD. They will become available to accept into the 2025 compliance year on the EPR for Packaging digital service from February 2025.
From 1 January 2025, on your 2025 NPWD welcome page, you will see a notification directing you to use the EPR for Packaging digital service to manage your obligations under The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 (pEPR).
As a producer or compliance scheme, you have the choice to either use 2024 December waste PRNs and PERNs towards your 2024 obligations, or your 2025 obligations. If you wish to use them towards 2024 obligations, you should accept them as normal on NPWD. If you wish to use them towards 2025 obligations, you must not accept them on NPWD.
You should be able to see the PRNs and PERNs on the new digital service from 1 February 2025, and from this date you can then accept them towards your 2025 obligations on the new digital service.
Whilst the NPWD service is linked to the new EPR for packaging digital service, between 1 January and February, you won’t be able to accept or reject any 2025 evidence on the new digital service.
Contracts, sales and payments for PRNs and PERNs will remain outside of the digital system.
If you have any queries, please do get in touch with our experts below, or via the contact form:
