PackUK’s RAM2027 overview, updated 20 August 2026, distinguishes reporting years: RAM version 1.1 for 2026, RAM2027 for 2027. This UK instruction is separate from the EU PPWR timetable.
Start with the reporting year
| Packaging reporting period | Method identified by PackUK |
|---|---|
| 1 January–31 December 2026 | RAM version 1.1 |
| 1 January–31 December 2027 | RAM2027 |
The overview covers household packaging and packaging commonly ending up in public bins. RAM ratings are distinct from other recyclability labeling; a reporting result should not automatically become a different marketing statement.
Identify the organisation and packaging
The government’s large-producer reporting guide, updated on 19 August 2026, describes a large producer using two checks: annual turnover above £2 million and responsibility for supplying more than 50 tonnes of packaging in the UK. It then works through activities, materials and weight, packaging class and type, recyclability data and nation data. Readers below those thresholds are directed to separate small-producer guidance.
For teams assembling data, the important editorial inference is that a material description alone is not a complete reporting record. Preserve who supplied the package, what role they performed and the relevant period. Keep uncertainties about activity or classification visible rather than resolving them by copying a supplier’s label.
Recyclability data and recycling evidence are different
The official recycling-obligations and disposal-fees guide, updated 7 April 2026, treats PRNs and PERNs as recycling evidence and requires material-specific obligations to be met. It gives 31 January 2027 as the deadline for 2026 recycling obligations. Disposal charges have their own defined packaging scope.
That distinction prevents a practical mistake: a document showing a packaging design assessment is not the same record as evidence meeting a producer’s recycling obligation. The assessment method, the reported packaging data and the financial or recycling evidence need their own checks.
A workable handover between 2026 and 2027
Editorial analysis: Keep two clearly named assessment workstreams. A team can gather information once while preserving the method and period under which each conclusion was reached.
- Put the reporting year and methodology version on every assessment record. A file called simply “recyclability” is too easy to reuse without context.
- Ask suppliers for a stable specification identifier, component details and the date of the information. Preserve the record supporting the assessed package.
- Keep a change log. If a structure, coating or other relevant feature changes, identify which reporting records need another review.
- Store assessment records separately from invoices and recycling evidence, then cross-reference them through the same packaging identifier.
- Before uploading data, have the responsible person check the applicable guidance rather than accepting a previous year’s result unchanged.
What this update does not establish
The sources do not establish a rating for a particular package in this article. They also do not justify applying a UK assessment directly to another market. The reporting distinction is confirmed as of 14 October 2026; specific obligations still depend on the producer and packaging facts.
Official sources
- PackUK RAM2027 overview — updated 20 August 2026.
- Large-producer reporting guidance — updated 19 August 2026.
- Recycling evidence and disposal-fee guidance — updated 7 April 2026.
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