Packaging compliance for the UK and Ireland

Packaging data, once. Compliance, everywhere.

Specloop is a shared library of packaging specs. Suppliers publish what their packaging is made of once. Every brand that buys from them pulls that data straight into their UK EPR, Repak and EU returns.

See the product New to this? Start here

No more chasing suppliers with spreadsheets every six months.

£1.56bnFees PackUK expects to collect from producers in 2026-27

2.0×The fee multiple for hard-to-recycle (red) packaging by 2028-29

£180 → £370Average price of a plastic recovery note per tonne, 2025 to 2026

The basics, in plain English

Follow one crisp packet through the system

Since 2025, the business that puts packaging on the market pays for it to be collected and recycled. This is called extended producer responsibility (EPR). Here is where the money and the data go.

Step 1

Packaging supplier

The bag is made

A film maker produces the bag: two layers of plastic, 4.2 grams, with printed ink. Only the supplier knows these details for sure.

Step 2

Brand owner

Crisps go in, bags go out

The crisp brand fills millions of bags and sells them. In law, it is now the “producer” of that packaging.

Step 3

Brand owner → PackUK

Report and pay

Twice a year the brand reports tonnes of packaging by material and nation. PackUK sends a bill. Hard-to-recycle packaging pays more.

Step 4

Your council

The bin is collected

PackUK passes the fees to councils to pay for collecting and sorting household packaging.

Step 5

Recycler

Proof of recycling

An accredited recycler issues a recovery note (PRN) for each tonne recycled. Big producers must buy enough notes to meet recycling targets.

Where Specloop helps: getting the supplier’s data to the brand, and the brand’s data to the regulator.

Why the data matters

The bill depends on how recyclable each pack is

PackUK rates every type of packaging green, amber or red using its recyclability method (RAM). Red packaging pays a rising multiple of the base fee for that material.

Red

1.2×

1.6×

2.0×

Red-rated multiplier in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29. Source: PackUK fee modulation statement.

Why it’s painful today

Every brand asks every supplier the same questions

To get a rating, a brand needs the weight and material of every part of every pack: the bag, the label, the cap, the tray. That data sits with suppliers, so brands send spreadsheets. A supplier with 200 customers gets 200 different spreadsheets, twice a year.

Northern Ireland firms selling into Ireland also report to Repak, and from August 2026 face the EU packaging regulation (PPWR) on top.

EPRExtended producer responsibility

The rule that whoever puts packaging on the market pays the full cost of dealing with it once it’s thrown away.

PackUKThe scheme administrator

The government body that works out the fees, bills producers and pays councils for packaging collection.

RAMRecyclability assessment method

PackUK’s rules for rating each type of packaging green, amber or red. The rating changes the fee.

PRNPackaging recovery note

Evidence that a tonne of packaging was recycled in the UK. A PERN is the same for packaging exported for recycling. Large producers buy them to meet targets, and prices swing a lot.

SchemeCompliance scheme

A company that takes on a producer’s recycling obligations for a fee, buying recovery notes and filing on their behalf. Valpak and Ecosurety are examples.

ProducerLarge and small producers

Roughly, large producers have over £2m turnover and handle over 50 tonnes of packaging a year. They report twice a year and pay fees. Small producers (over £1m and 25 tonnes) register and report once a year.

RepakIreland’s compliance scheme

The single approved packaging scheme in Ireland. Businesses selling packaged goods into Ireland join and report to it.

PPWREU packaging regulation

The EU-wide packaging law, mostly in force since 12 August 2026. It adds rules on recyclability, recycled content and labelling on top of national schemes like Repak.

How Specloop works

One spec, entered once, reused by every customer

Suppliers publish

A packaging supplier adds each product once: its parts, weights, materials and recycled content.

Free for suppliers to list
Version history when a spec changes
They choose which customers see it

Specloop checks

Each spec is checked against the current RAM rules and given a green, amber or red rating, with the reason.

Re-rated automatically when the rules change
Flags missing or odd data
Audit trail for the regulator

Brands file

Brands link their products to suppliers’ specs. Sales volumes come in from their systems and the returns build themselves.

UK EPR returns by nation
Repak reports for sales into Ireland
EU PPWR declarations

Product tour

What it could look like

Four screens from the concept. Company names, products and figures are invented examples.

The brand owner’s home screen. It shows what they owe, which packs push the bill up, and which supplier data is still missing.

app.specloop.example/harbour-hill/overview

Harbour & Hill Foods

2026 obligation · large producer

Example data

Packaging placed on market1,284 tOn track vs 2025

Estimated EPR fees£412kUp 14% on 2025

Red-rated share18%Costs more each year

Supplier data complete86%3 requests waiting

Rating by material

Plastic

412 t

Paper, card

536 t

Glass

281 t

Steel

38 t

Aluminium

17 t

GreenAmberRed

Products pushing the bill up

Product	Supplier	Rating	Tonnes
Ready meal tray, black	Tray maker	Red	96.4
Crisp multipack bag	Film supplier	Red	71.0
Sandwich box, PET window	Carton maker	Amber	64.8
Yoghurt pot lid	Awaiting supplier	No data	12.2

Save about £38k a year by 2028
Switch the black tray to clear PET and the bag to mono-material film. Illustrative estimate.

See swap plan

The packaging supplier’s view. They describe each product once, and answer every customer’s request with one click instead of a new spreadsheet.

app.specloop.example/supplier/lough-board/specs/mailer-300

Lough Board Co.

Corrugated packaging supplier · 48 specs published

Example data

Mailer box, 300 × 200 × 100 mm

SPEC-LB-0300 · version 4 · checked 2 Oct 2026

Green · recyclable

PartMaterialWeight Corrugated boardPaper, card182.0 g Sealing tapePlastic, PP3.1 g Address labelPaper1.8 g Recycled content71%

Why green: board is 98% of the weight, and the tape is under the limit set in RAM 2027.

Requests from customers

Harbour & Hill Foods2 days ago

Wants the spec for the sandwich wedge box.

Waiting on you

Northpoint Retail5 days ago

Asked for recycled content on all mailer boxes.

Waiting on you

Bayside CoffeeLast week

Mailer box 300, all versions.

Shared

Before Specloop: 31 spreadsheets answered this half-year.

Where the work turns into returns. One set of data produces the UK, Irish and EU filings, so a Northern Ireland firm selling both ways doesn’t do it three times.

app.specloop.example/harbour-hill/returns/2026-h2

Second half of 2026

July to December · UK EPR, Repak and EU

Example data

ReadyUK EPR return652 t across 4 nations

ReadyRepak report88 t sold into Ireland

2 to finishEU PPWR declarationsNeeds recycled content from 2 suppliers

UK tonnes by nation

Nation	Plastic	Paper, card	Glass	Other
England	142.1	188.4	97.0	19.6
Scotland	21.8	29.2	15.1	3.0
Wales	10.4	13.9	7.2	1.4
Northern Ireland	31.7	42.0	21.6	7.6

Before you submit

✓Specs from 14 of 14 suppliersDone

✓Sales volumes importedDone

✓Ratings checked against RAMDone

!Sign-off by a directorWaiting

Who it’s for

Everyone who touches the packaging data

Brand owners

Food, drink and retail businesses that are large producers under UK EPR.

Gets: returns that build themselves, and a plan to cut red-rated packaging.

Packaging suppliers

Film, carton, bottle and tray makers answering spec requests from every customer.

Gets: one place to publish specs, and no more spreadsheets.

Cross-border firms

Northern Ireland businesses selling into both Great Britain and Ireland.

Gets: UK EPR, Repak and EU filings from one set of data.

Schemes and consultants

Compliance schemes and advisers who file for hundreds of clients.

Gets: verified supplier data for every client, through one connection.

Early access

Help shape Specloop

We’re talking to packaging suppliers and brand owners in Northern Ireland first. Tell us who you are and we’ll be in touch.

Packaging data, once. Compliance, everywhere.

Follow one crisp packet through the system

The bag is made

Crisps go in, bags go out

Report and pay

The bin is collected

Proof of recycling

The bill depends on how recyclable each pack is

Every brand asks every supplier the same questions

One spec, entered once, reused by every customer

Suppliers publish

Specloop checks

Brands file

What it could look like

Harbour & Hill Foods

Rating by material

Products pushing the bill up

Lough Board Co.

Mailer box, 300 × 200 × 100 mm

Requests from customers

Ready meal tray, black CPET

Second half of 2026

UK tonnes by nation

Before you submit

Everyone who touches the packaging data

Brand owners

Packaging suppliers

Cross-border firms

Schemes and consultants

Help shape Specloop