Owner of Belvoir Farm in Bottesford says new Extended Producer Responsibility tax (EPR) to be introduced by Defra next year could result in £800,000 of profit being lost

A drinks company owner says a new tax that will be introduced next year by Defra will ‘potentially wipe out’ their profits.

Belvoir Farm, based in Bottesford, has been producing a range of drinks from its family farm for over 40 years and they are sold in glass bottles.

The drinks company could now face a risk of losing money for producing its drinks in glass bottles, due to a new Extended Producer Responsibility tax (EPR) being introduced by Defra next April.

The new tax will mean producers will have to pay the full cost of managing and recycling package waste they produce, moving the cost away from taxpayers.

“We have calculated that it could potentially wipe out all our profits,” said Pev Manners, owner of Belvoir Farm.

The new policy could result in a loss of nearly £800,000 profit of Belvoir Farm’s £30 million turnover. Its profits are invested into the family farm and sustainability.

He added: “Working with nature and countryside is at the heart of everything we do and we made a conscious decision to use glass packaging from the very start over four decades ago.

“It’s the best way to produce natural soft drinks. We don’t have to use artificial preserves as the glass seals in the natural goodness.

“In addition, unlike plastic, glass is infinitely recyclable and already widely collected across the country in our green bins.”

The EPR tax aims to encourage businesses to reduce their “unnecessary” packaging and use more recycled and recyclable packaging.

It is also predicted to generate more than £1 billion every year to support local collection and disposal services.

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are committed to cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy.

“Extended producer responsibility for packaging is a vital first step for our packaging reforms which will create 21,000 jobs and stimulate more than £10 billion investment in the recycling sector over the next decade.

“We continue to work closely with businesses, including the glass industry, on these reforms.”

Pev is working with companies who use glass packaging, such as Fentimans and Fever-Tree, to raise the issues for their businesses with Defra.

They want to try and delay the new tax “until a more level playing field has been identified”, added Pev.