Guidance & Tips

There are two types of coat hangers. Coat hangers which are sold as a product are not obligated and coat hangers which are deemed as obligated packaging...

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Packaging waste data submission time is upon us. Therefore, Valpak have created this checklist to help you to prepare and to ensure that you have all of the necessary information to hand to complete your packaging data submission. Download the checklist here

In the UK we comply with the EU Packaging Directive through our own set of legislation known as the The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (for England, Scotland and Wales) and The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007. Download the overview here.

Find out which areas are covered by the UK Packaging Waste Regulations. Download the guidance here.

This information sheet offers guidance on completing the Packaging Data Submission Form and provides updated information relating to data issues... Download the guidance here.

There are 8 simples steps you will need to go through in order to complete your data submission online...

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Download a copy of our practice packaging data submission form.

Many packaging items are easy to place within the materials stated on the data submission form. There may be some packaging items that do not fit within the materials stated. These need to be recorded in 'other'. Download the guidance here.

A convertor is a company which manufactures packaging from raw materials. However, during this converting stage there may be more than one phase of activity, so not all producers will supply packaging or packaging materials to another stage in the chain – they may supply on to another business at the same stage...

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A Direct Sale concerns companies who are selling into licensed premises – pubs/clubs/restaurants. This guidance is aimed at helping you to determine when the supplier is obligated for packaging and when the pub/club/restaurant is obligated for packaging... Download the guidance here.

A line has been added to the data form just after Table 1; the “Of Which Leased” line.

• A LEASEE is a company who leases or borrows packaging in order to pack their product onto or into it. Leasees are not obligated for the packaging which they lease
• A LESSOR is a company who owns packaging that is leased or borrowed by a third party. Lessors are obligated for the packaging which they lease on its first trip

Download the guidance here.

This guidance is addressed to those involved in the placing of packaged goods on the market and the enforcement authorities. Download a copy of the government guidance notes here.

Carrier bags supplied free of charge are empty packaging designed to be filled with goods at the point of sale. They are therefore obligated packaging under the Packaging Waste Regulations when handled for this function. Carrier bags that are charged for are deemed to be a product in their own right and are therefore not classed as packaging. Download the guidance here.

‘A label will be treated as packaging, whether applied directly to the sales unit or to other packaging associated with the sales unit, where it provides a “presentation” function to the end-user of the label’. Download the packaging labels guidance here.

In late 2007 the agencies (EA, SEPA, and NIEA) reviewed their guidance on goods imported into bonded warehouses within the UK. Download the bonded warehouses guidance here.

Franchises that meet the £2 million turnover and 50 tonne thresholds individually will continue to register separately under the Regulations. Franchises that do not meet the turnover and tonnage thresholds individually will have their obligation met by their franchisor, if as a franchise group they meet the above thresholds. Download the pubs and franchises guidance here.

All imported packaging is obligated by the first legal owner in the UK. Download the packaging importers guidance here.

Under the Packaging Waste Regulations, second hand imported transit packaging is now obligated, where previously it was not. This is as a result of recent consultations. Download a copy of the second hand transit packaging guidance here.

As part of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, ‘sellers’ are required to provide packaging recycling information to their customers. Find out how Valpak help our members to meet their CIOs.

Download a copy of the EA Agreed Positions and Technical Interpretations Packaging Scope.

Download a copy of the Packaging Data Workshop presentation here

Download a copy of Valpak's batteries technical guidance.

EA decision framework for hand carried batteries.

Download a copy of the guidance here

Download the guidance document here.

Download a copy of Valpak's Batteries Data Workshop Presentation

The UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations are one of a series of ‘producer responsibility’ regulations, which make producers financially responsible for the recycling and recovery of their products at end of life. Download the a copy of the document here.

These Guidance Notes cover the obligations which the WEEE Regulations place on producers who put electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) onto the UK market, and obligations on distributors of EEE in the UK. They also cover the roles and implications for others including Local Authorities, the waste management industry, the charitable and voluntary sector, and implications for users and consumers of EEE, and others. Download a copy of the guidance notes.

The Agency’s purpose in listing these scoping interpretations is to provide some examples which underpin the decision tree and which will help to illustrate the principles of determining what is covered by the WEEE Regulations and what is not. Download a copy of the guidance.

Provisions for new and historic WEEE applies only to WEEE intended for uses other than private households - Business to Business (B2B). Download a copy of the guidance document.

A “non-private household producer” is a producer of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) intended for users other than private households. This type of EEE is used in organisations. For example, business, industry, government institutions, schools, hospitals etc. This EEE can be identical to EEE used in private households. Download a copy of the guidance here.

A distributor/ retailer is defined as any business who provides electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on a commercial basis to a consumer. Distributors who supply new EEE, intended for use by private households, will attract an obligation under the UK WEEE Regulations. Download a copy of the guidance here.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations require submitted data to be ‘as accurate as reasonably possible’. Accuracy of the data should noticeably improve year on year and reasonable steps should be taken to ensure the data meets the accuracy requirements of the regulations. Download a copy of the guidance document here.

Producer compliance schemes, such as Valpak, will need to provide recycling evidence on behalf of its producers of non-private household EEE. This evidence will be issued by Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities (AATFs) or Approved Exporters (AEs) in the form of Evidence Notes once the required amount of WEEE has been treated appropriately. Download a copy of the guidance here

Download a copy of the weight of EEE frequently asked questions

European standards marking body CENELEC has developed a standard for WEEE Directive marking.

Download a copy of the Cenelec Report

Download a copy of the 2010 WEEE Data Workshop Presentation.