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Check your obligation
Northern Ireland

If you want to find out if your company is affected by the Packaging Waste Regulations, please work through the following questions.

This test is for guidance only.

Click on the tick or the cross to go onto the next stage.

Does your organisation have an operation or operations in Northern Ireland?

Your organisation can only be obligated in Northern Ireland (NI) if it has operations there. A Northern Ireland operation can be a company, partnership, sole trader or site.

  • Example: Company A is a supermarket based in England, but it owns and operates several stores in Northern Ireland.

  • Example: Company B makes engine parts in Scotland and supplies them to Company C which is based in Northern Ireland. Company C discards the packaging from around the engine parts. Company B is not obligated in Northern Ireland, however, it must include the packaging supplied to Company C (the end user) on its GB packaging return.

Does your annual turnover exceed ?2 million?

This figure refers to the last set of audited accounts submitted to either IDB House (NI) or Companies House (GB).

Is your company part of a group whose combined turnover is more than ?2 million?

Even though your company's turnover is less than ?2 million, you may still find that you're obligated if you're part of a group. If the combined turnover of all the companies in the group is more than ?2 million, all the companies within the group will become obligated.

Does your organisation own the packaging or packaging materials handled in Northern Ireland?

To be obligated, you must own the packaging you handle.

  • Example: Company A undertakes contract packing for Company B. Company B provides Company A with 100 tonnes of their own brand packaging, retaining ownership of this packaging. Company A is not obligated because they do not own the packaging. Company B needs to pick up the obligation for this packaging.

Does your organisation perform a relevant activity on any of the packaging or packaging material that it handles?

The responsibility for recycling packaging is shared by all the producers in the packaging chain. To be obligated you must perform one or more of the following

Activity
Raw material manufacturer
Converter
Packer / Filler
Seller
Importer 		Example
A manufacturer of sheet steel to be made into packaging
A manufacturer of steel cans
A company filling cans with food
A retailer selling canned goods to the end users
A wholesaler importing canned goods from Europe

Remember: You may fall into more than one category.

Does your organisation handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging and/or packaging materials?

To be obligated in Northern Ireland, a business must handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging and/or packaging materials during the previous year. Companies registering in 2002 will need to return data for packaging handled in 2001.

When working out if you handle 50 tonnes of packaging, include:

  • imports of packaging or packaging materials
  • special producer packaging
But exclude:
  • packaging that you throw away (unless imported)
  • any packaging that is exported by you or your customer
  • packaging that has been used once before (e.g. reusable crates)
  • packaging that you do not legally own (e.g. pallet rental)
  • production residues (process waste)

Is your company part of a group or another organisation whose combined UK operations handle more than 50 tonnes?

As with the turnover threshold, businesses which are sites or subsidiaries of an organisation must combine their Northern Ireland tonnage handled. If this combined tonnage exceeds 50 tonnes then all parts of an organisation must register, even if individually they handle less than 50 tonnes. Companies can either register separately or as a single group.

  • Example: Companies A, B and C are part of a group operating in Northern Ireland. Companies A, B and C handle 15, 40 and 20 tonnes of packaging respectively. The combined tonnage for the group exceeds the threshold and this means all three companies could be obligated. Companies A, B and C could either register separately, or as a single group.

  • Example: If the same scenario as above exists, but Company B operates in Scotland, then the combined Northern Ireland tonnage does not exceed 50 tonnes and none of the companies would be obligated in either GB or Northern Ireland.

You are not obligated

If your company is not yet obligated but will be in future years, you may still become one of our 'non-obligated members' at a special discounted rate. As a non-obligated member, you can access many of the services available to full members and prepare for becoming obligated in the future.

Request an application pack today or telephone 08450 682 572.

You are obligated

You need to be registered with the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS). You will also need to complete a Northern Ireland application form and data submission form.

Request an application pack today or telephone 08450 682 572.

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