Packaging Price Tracker - 5th June 2026

What are PRNs? Packaging Recovery Notes are compliance certificates that obligated UK packaging producers must purchase to prove their packaging has been recycled. The price reflects recycling market capacity — higher prices typically indicate tighter supply of certified recycling.

Why this matters for packaging buyers: HGV fuel surcharges typically track diesel prices with a 4–6 week lag. Diesel has now fallen for seven consecutive weeks, reaching 181.8p/litre — down 10.0p from its recent peak of 191.8p, a sustained and significant move. The diesel premium over petrol has narrowed to 23.8p — its tightest since before the Middle East conflict began in February. Buyers who have not yet renegotiated fuel surcharges with their hauliers now have seven weeks of data to support that conversation.

About these fees: 2026/27 marks Year 2 of pEPR and the first year of eco-modulation, replacing the flat-rate fees of 2025/26 with a Red-Amber-Green (RAG) system tied to the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM). Amber is the base rate shown above. Red-rated packaging (less recyclable) is charged at 1.2× amber; Green-rated packaging receives a discount. These are illustrative figures published by PackUK in December 2025 — confirmed fees will be published in June 2026. Wood sees the biggest increase at +60% vs 2025/26. Plastic remains the highest-cost material at ~£465/t amber.

Wood PRN prices surged 25% this week, jumping £5.00 to £25.00 per tonne — now an extraordinary 405% above the equivalent week last year (£4.95). This is the second material to post a 25% single-week spike in consecutive weeks, following Aluminium's move last week. The pattern reflects the volatility building across multiple PRN streams as Q2 compliance deadlines approach and obligated producers scramble to close positions. Plastic PRN edged up again to £351.89 — another marginal new high, now 141% above the same week in 2025 (£145.72).

Paper PRNs ticked up modestly to £7.54, resuming their upward run after last week's pause. Aluminium partially reversed last week's spike, falling back to £72.01 — still elevated but suggesting the 25% move was an overshoot. Glass PRNs continued to ease, with Other falling to £92.00 (-3.9%) and Remelt essentially flat at £94.00. Steel held unchanged at £40.00. The divergence between rapidly rising Wood and Plastic PRNs and the softening Glass and Steel markets reflects very different supply and demand dynamics across material streams.

Diesel fell for a seventh consecutive week, reaching 181.8p/litre — now 10.0p below its recent peak and approaching the 180p level for the first time since before the Middle East conflict. The diesel-to-petrol premium has narrowed to 23.8p, its tightest in four months. Seven weeks of sustained falls now represents a compelling basis for buyers to push back on haulier fuel surcharges — the underlying data clearly supports that renegotiation.

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