The Government has launched consultation to outline a proposed tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content. It was announced in the 2018 Budget and is due to take effect from April 2022
According to the government 44% of plastic used in the UK can be accounted for in packaging and 67% of plastic waste. This equates to over 2 million tonnes of plastic yearly.
Evidence obtained by the government highlighted that using recycled plastic is often more expensive than using new plastic. Therefore they are looking to encourage the sustained use of recycled plastic in packaging. They plan to set a UK wide tax at a rate that provides economic incentive to use recycled material in the production of packaging.
2019’s Budget will include the next steps regarding this new tax and draft legislation on the matter is proposed for 2020.
