Valpak welcomes Defra’s commitment to collaborative approach to EPR with appointment of Dr Margaret Bates

Steve Gough, CEO at the UK’s largest compliance scheme – Reconomy brand Valpak – has welcomed Defra’s announcement that OPRL’s Dr Margaret Bates has been appointed as Head for the UK Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) for Packaging Scheme Administrator.

Gough said: “Both I, and the team at Valpak, would like to congratulate Margaret on an appointment that will earn support across the supply chain. Margaret’s wealth of experience at Northampton University and OPRL, and her dedication to serving the sector while president of CIWM, will help to drive Defra’s packaging reforms forward collaboratively. We wish her success and look forward to working with her in her new role.”

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Valpak’s mission is to create a sustainable, waste-free world. We are driven, not by today. We are driven by tomorrow.

We help our clients to reduce waste and recycle more, continually innovating and using leading data science and expertise to inspire businesses, help push ourselves – and our industry – forward. We don’t just show our customers how to navigate waste regulations; we help them become more sustainable, through our ever-increasing capabilities and pioneering innovations.

Valpak is the largest environmental compliance scheme in the UK. We work with major names, such as Aldi, Tesco, ASOS, and Miele, and manages compliance for more than 2,000 businesses. In 2022, it celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Valpak is a Reconomy Group company. Reconomy Group is an innovative, tech-led provider of services to enable the circular economy, with the purpose of creating a truly sustainable world by conserving finite resources. Enabling businesses around the world to improve their ESG outcomes, the Reconomy Group delivers value through its unique set of integrated capabilities - Recycle, Comply and Re-use.​

Reconomy Group serves businesses of all sizes in the following sectors: retail, hospitality, leisure, manufacturing, facilities management, transport and logistics, construction, house building and infrastructure.

Valpak services include:

• Compliance under Waste Packaging, WEEE, and Battery Directives.
• Data insights.
• International compliance.
• Recycling services (total waste management options and solutions for niche materials).
• Consultancy.
• Accreditation under environmental schemes, such as Zero Waste to Landfill. 

Valpak invests in pioneering systems and expertise which enable its customers to analyse, assess and improve product design. The Product Data Hub, Insight Platform and dedicated teams work together to drive change.