Levied beyond the limit? UK Plastic Packaging Tax contains critical oversights, warns Food and Drink Federation

21 Mar 2022 --- The UK Plastic Packaging Tax is set for enforcement next week, but packaging manufacturers and industry bodies fear the legislation lacks the necessary detail to effectively reduce fossil fuel-based material usage and will instead punish businesses actively attempting to lower their carbon footprint.

The tax, which will take effect on April 1, stipulates that any company annually importing more than 10 metric tons of plastic containing less than 30% recycled content will face a £200 (US$264) levy per ton. Any amount less than 10 metric tons will be exempt. 

However, industry bodies like the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) say the legislation contains a critical oversight – many plastics that come into contact with contaminants such as food cannot be recycled and should be exempt. The UK government, which passed the law in 2018, failed to make exceptions in these areas and will now tax businesses according to standards they cannot heed. 

The FDF’s director of sustainability Nicki Hunt, tells PackagingInsights: “Our food and drink manufacturers want to do the right thing and recycle more packaging – in line with the UK government’s and our own environmental targets – but efforts are being constrained by restrictions around the materials that can have contact with food, which cannot currently be recycled, and are subject to the new plastics packaging tax.”

“The result of this is that further costs are placed on businesses, which may lead to higher prices for consumers. Our industry would prefer government measures to further support and incentivize innovation in recyclable packaging materials.”The FDF fears businesses will be unfairly taxed for plastic that cannot be recycled.

Policy oversights 
The UK Plastic Packaging Tax is not the only anti-plastics legislation to receive criticism from industry bodies and companies in the past year. The EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) recently came under fire for being rushed into enforcement and failing to take into account innovations that could help diminish the use of environmentally harmful materials. 

The SUPD made no exemptions for biodegradable single-use items, which many industry players – including Tipa – say misses a vital opportunity to keep materials on the market that can break down naturally in the environment. 

Activists say the legislation was rushed through the European parliament and missed a vital opportunity to ban certain harmful plastic products and at once a chance to exempt and promote those with a low environmental footprint. 

Compostable crisis 
The Italian government ignored the European Commission’s SUPD guidelines and exempted biodegradable plastics items like cutlery from its national ban, prompting environmental NGOs like ClientEarth to file lawsuits.  

Moreover, organizations like European Plastics Converters have asserted that a lack of clarity in the SUPD guidelines has led to individual EU nations implementing their own rules, thereby threatening the Single Market’s integrity. Similar issues are arising in the EU with the Single Use Plastics Tax.

Last year, the EuPC announced that measures such as the French and Spanish ban on plastic packaging for certain weights of fruits and vegetables could result in serious disruptions of the free movement of goods throughout the EU. 

Examples of mixed and biased guidelines enacted on the bloc could threaten the harmonization of legal proceedings and trade that the EU relies upon to maintain its “most important achievement” – the single market, they say. If swift action is not taken here, European economics could be under serious threat, as a majority of produce moved throughout the EU is wrapped in plastic.  

The UK now faces similar oversights and potential industry complications. Many fear a lack of clarity, detail, and needed infrastructure to impose a realistic tax to raise the quantity of recycled content and boost a circular economy.

HLP Klearfold has created a simple guide for understanding the upcoming UK Plastic Packaging Tax amid reports of growing confusion around how the law will be enforced.  

By Louis Gore-Langton