New Tax on Disposable Plastic to be Effective by 2021

The decision to levy fee of 80 cents per kilogram of disposable plastic, will go into effect from 1 January, 2021.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Die Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) - a Germany-based environmental group has welcomed the EU proposal to impose tax on the non-recycled plastic waste disposed by member countries. The decision to levy fee of 80 cents per kilogram of disposable plastic, will go into effect from 1 January, 2021.

The association noted that the levied fee of 80 cents per kilogram is too less. In addition to this, the member states should levy fee of at least 20 cents per kilogram on problematic plastic items such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and cups, which have proved to create serious environmental and health threats.

Jürgen Resch, DUH federal manager said that the legislation is expected to curb littering of nature and cities with harmful disposable products. The income generated through the tax must be utilized for waste prevention and reusable funding, he said.

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Jochen Flasbarth, Germany’s State Secretary for Environment stated that the new proposal targets unrecycled plastic, thereby leading to less plastic waste. Furthermore, it will encourage member states to expand their recycling capabilities. Wolfgang Katzian, president of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) too welcomed the tax on disposable plastic, saying that it is just the first step in the journey towards CO2 compensation levies and digital tax in future.

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