DATA from Google shows a 334% week-on-week spike in Extended Producer Responsibility-related searches, environmental compliance data specialist Ecoveritas has revealed.
The finding comes as UK businesses prepare for new reporting requirements and reforms to cut packaging waste.
Google Trends, which analyses a sample of Google web searches to determine how many searches were done over a certain period, shows that interest grew from a rating of 15 for the week ending February 25 to 100 for the week in which new data reporting requirements came into force.
Ecoveritas added that the guidance page for UK organisations looking to prepare for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging is also showing a 30% increase in traffic. Ecoveritas is reporting a 44% increase in visitors to its online hub ecoveritas.com
“It is good to see EPR take another significant step forward with the introduction of the reporting requirements for the producers of packaging,” said head of sustainability consulting, Kathy Illingworth. “Ecoveritas continues to have so many new conversations with people looking to future-proof their business.
“Hopefully, we will see more tangible progress towards mitigating risk, making data-based decisions, and improving on sustainability targets soon.
“Businesses need a modern and flexible range of partners who can support them on the journey and advise them as they go through it. Needs can change over time, but those core processes of bringing things together to make better decisions will always be important.”
From February 28, all obligated packaging producers in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland must collect information on the amount and type of packaging they have supplied during 2023, with Wales following later this month.
Producers with a turnover of greater than £2 million and who handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year must also report this information to the Environment Agency twice a year. The first report must be submitted by October 1, 2023 (For the period January to June 2023).
