The UK government has delayed by a year the introduction of a regime where companies are required to pay fees relating to the amount of packaging they use.

Designed to encourage lower volumes of packaging reaching the market and more recycling, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme had been due to come into effect in 2024. However, the government has announced it will now be rolled out in 2025. This will likely be after the next UK general election, when political pundits expect the current Labour opposition party to gain power from the Conservatives, who have been in government for 13 years.

A statement published on the website of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “There’s been a decision to defer extended producer responsibility for packaging fees for one year. This update reflects that, and also explains that other timescales have not changed – producers still have to report packaging data for 2023.”

The EPR scheme requires that companies report data on packaging activity, packaging type, packaging class, and packaging material and weight. The amount of fees they will have to pay depends on how much packaging they put onto the market.

Related: Introduction of EU EPR legislation will have major impact – Smithers

A spokesperson for Defra told Plasteurope.com: “Work is ongoing to deliver our extended producer responsibility scheme and we’re continuing to engage closely with manufacturers, retailers, and packaging companies on its design and timelines. Full details will be set out in due course.”

A further announcement is expected from Defra on 28 July.

The EPR delay was welcomed by retailers. Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, told The Times: “The government is right to extend the timelines on its packaging reform. Its plans are not ready and this would simply drive up food prices without delivering the improvements in recycling everybody wants.”

However, local councils, who operate collection and recycling services, were less enthusiastic. “Councils need clarity on waste policy and need it urgently,” Sarah Nelmes, of the District Councils’ Network, told the newspaper. “This latest delay adds to the uncertainty which is hampering us from improving services so that recycling rates increase. There has been far too little attention paid to reducing the overall amount of waste produced.”

Related: Government plans update to plastics packaging tax

The decision to delay the introduction of the EPR scheme is the latest move by the government to scale back what many of its MPs see as a programme of imposing costs on businesses through environmental levies.

A number of climate-sceptic Conservative MPs have urged Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, to water down the government’s plans for the country to achieve net zero by 2050, arguing the costs involved will be too great to bear during a cost-of-living crisis.