British Glass warns new UK packaging tax propels single-use production and job losses

British Glass has accused the UK government of shattering the UK glass sector after a new packaging tax was passed by Parliament. We speak with Dave Dalton, CEO at British Glass, about what the association now expects from the government to mitigate glass prices and ensure fair material costs.

“The government has failed to listen to concerns from producers and trade bodies and is ploughing on with this ill-thought-out scheme, which is a hammer blow to the glass sector and British manufacturing,” Dalton tells us. 

Under the new packaging extended producer (pEPR) scheme, which shifts the cost of collection and sorting from local authorities to producers, heavier containers like glass will incur higher levies. This means products in glass bottles and jars could have an additional cost of more than 10 p (US$0.13), whereas products in plastic or metal containers will have marginal extra costs.

Glass fees for beverage packaging will be around 49 times higher than for other materials, forcing brands to avoid using 100% recyclable glass products.

British Glass, which represents the UK glass industry, says the move will lead to job losses in a sector that employs 120,000 in its supply chain.

The trade body warns that the new packaging tax, set to be implemented from April 2025, will also push up the price of many items and could conversely lead to more throwaway plastic.

The new UK packaging tax is likely to shift businesses away from using fully glass-based bottles and jars, leading to lower recycling rates.Can equal prices be established?

British Glass supports the principle of pEPR and that packaging waste collection and recycling needs to be reformed to deliver a circular economy for the UK.

But Dalton warns that the current pEPR regulations that have been passed by the government will not deliver this and will negatively impact UK businesses including glass packaging production.

“The proposed pEPR fees are primarily based on weight, meaning glass packaging will bear around 30% of the total cost, which is approximately £500 million [~US$637 million] based on the intermediate pEPR fee, while being less than 5% of the packaging placed on the UK market by volume,” Dalton tells Packaging Insights.

To address the issue of pEPR leading to higher glass prices when compared to plastic or metal, he says British Glass expects the government to ensure that:

• All packaging, including beverage packaging that is intended to be included in a deposit return scheme (DRS), should be liable for pEPR fees to avoid market distortion. 
• The fees methodology must apply to the volume of packaging as the volume of packaging is what impacts the environment — not the weight. 

Dalton says that British Glass has raised serious issues and the current pEPR’s negative impact on the environment and the glass sector with members of Parliament (MPs) and ministers.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been heard, and we’re extremely disappointed that the pEPR scheme was passed in Parliament on Wednesday, November 27, without any challenge from MPs.”

To help establish equal prices among packaging materials, British Glass calls for:

• Implementing pEPR for all packaging, including metal and plastic beverage packaging, that will be in a DRS from October 2027 — all materials pay pEPR fees until the DRS is launched. 
• The fees methodology must apply to the volume of packaging as the volume of packaging is what impacts the environment not the weight.

A lack of sector understanding?The UK government shows a lack of understanding of the global competition the glass sector faces, says Dalton.

Dalton sees Defra’s pEPR impact assessment as “worrying.”

“While it acknowledges there may be lower demand for materials carrying a higher pEPR cost, it also suggests that packaging is a ‘global market’ and any shortfall could be made through export, or that manufacturers should produce other packaging formats.”

“This is unrealistic for the UK glass sector and shows a lack of understanding of the global competition the UK glass sector faces. If the glass industry could export more glass, they would already be doing it. A glass manufacturer cannot simply make other packaging formats in a glass furnace, as it’s specifically designed to melt glass,” he continues.

“It also fundamentally shows that Defra doesn’t truly understand businesses, the UK glass industry and the impact it will have on both businesses and consumers.”

Meanwhile, the effect on the environment is equally depressing. “The government has a plan for a circular and zero-waste economy, yet the pEPR policy will incentivize more plastic — which is less circular than glass. We urge the government to rethink this policy and meet with businesses and British Glass as a priority,” says Dalton.

“Furthermore, pEPR will further fuel the increasing imports of empty glass packaging from countries outside of the EU that operate to lower environmental standards and lower operating cost, so they can absorb the pEPR cost and still remain competitive against other packaging materials.”