New ‘plastic tax’ introduced – Spring 2022
As a new Plastic Packaging Tax has now been introduced, we look at what the changes are and how they will effect businesses:
As of April 1, 2022, a Plastic Packaging Tax now applies to all plastic packaging being manufactured in, or imported into, the UK containing less than 30% recycled plastic.
So how will the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) effect businesses and what are the drivers behind it?
The rules effect businesses across all industry types and of all sizes – it’s expected to impact 20,000 businesses across the UK.
Any businesses that imports plastic packaging or products contained in plastic packaging, or manufactures plastic packaging in the UK, will be liable to pay the tax.
Even those who meet the 30% recycled content requirement, and therefore do not need to pay the tax, will still need to register with the PPT scheme.
This tax will be charged at a rate of £200 per tonne where less than 30% recycled plastic is used in packaging, the government has said. Failure to comply with the Plastic Packaging Tax could lead to civil or criminal proceedings.
However, businesses that import or manufacture less than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging in a year will fall below the threshold and therefore will not have to pay the tax. The regulations also do not apply to any packaging which is not predominantly plastic by weight.
The new measures are intended to incentivise the use of recycled products and materials to create plastic packaging, and move manufacturers away from using raw materials. It is hoped that by promoting the use of recycled plastics, more plastics will be collected and recycled, diverting waste away from landfill or incineration and preventing up to 200,000t of CO2 emissions in one year alone.
The PPT means businesses and manufacturers need to not only have the right products in use, but also the right processes to monitor and report on their plastic packaging.
Our commitment to you:
At MorsaPack we’ve been busy working behind the scenes to come up with some great new products that meet the requirements of the Plastic Packaging Tax. We’re helping customers to increase their use of products with higher recycled content as well as accurately report on their usage.
Crucially, we’ve done this without compromising on the quality and integrity of products – we’ll still provide packaging solutions that offer the protection your goods require. We’ll also continue to advise our customers on other ways their packaging can limit the environmental impact of their operations, by reducing load weights to reduce emissions, and by delivering precise and consistent volumes of packaging to reduce wastage.
To find out more information on the .GOV website, please click the link:
