In one of the most significant pieces of UK plastic packaging legislation ever, last year saw the government introduce a new tax, which significantly increased the rate of tax on plastic packaging.
The aim? To increase the volume of recycled plastic that is used (and made) by businesses in the UK.
Now, one year after it was first introduced, we’ve used this article to explore how much impact the Plastics Packaging Tax has had on the UK so far, and what it is hoped it will achieve in the future.
What is the new Plastics Packaging Tax?
The new Plastics Packaging Tax was introduced on 1st April 2022.
The primary aim of the new legislation was to encourage more UK businesses to use recycled plastic in their packaging, rather than being reliant on new plastic.
The tax rate for plastic packaging that did not contain enough recycled plastic increased significantly, rising from £200 to £210.82 per tonne, as of April last year.
How does the new Plastics Packaging Tax work?
The tax covers any plastic packaging (whether it was manufactured in the UK or imported) that does not contain a minimum of 30% recycled plastic.
For plastic packaging that falls short of this limit, the packaging is subjected to the higher rate of tax, making it considerably more expensive for businesses to purchase.
As a result, businesses would be far more incentivised to prioritise recycled materials, and packaging manufacturers would be driven to invest in methods that would accommodate recycled plastics.
This would, it was hoped, significantly reduce the volume of plastic being manufactured in the UK, cut down plastic waste, increase plastic recycling rates, and dramatically reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.
What is the impact of the 2022 Plastics Packaging Tax?
Around 20,000 UK businesses were affected by the Plastics Packaging Tax. This included businesses of all sizes, from a huge range of different industries.
The main areas that the 2022 Plastics Packaging is set to impact include:
- Reducing the volume of waste going to landfill
- Reducing the UK’s carbon emissions, and overall carbon footprint
- Reducing the amount of energy required for the production of plastic packaging
- Helping the UK to achieve its 2050 target of net-zero emissions
- Reducing air pollution and water pollution
- Working towards the long-term UK goal of achieving a circular economy
- Driving more innovative packaging products and manufacturing methods
- Requiring increased corporate responsibility – this also includes requiring businesses to gather more data about their packaging
- Driving businesses to adopt a more sustainable, circular mindset, throughout their entire operations
- Increasing awareness of the issues of single-use plastic packaging
Although we’re still waiting to see the full effects of the UK Plastic Packaging tax, it is already having a significant impact on both the country’s businesses, and their sustainability standards.
In the first three quarters alone, the Treasury received over £200mn in revenue from the tax.
So, although it’s still early days, we’re excited to see how significantly this new plastic taxing policy can reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.
To find out more about the UK tax for plastic packaging, or to explore ways that you can make your business processes more sustainable, the EnviroCraft team is on hand to help.
The post What is the impact of the Plastics Packaging Tax UK? appeared first on EnviroCraft Waste Solutions.
