New Plastics Packaging Tax to Boost Circular Economy

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The newly introduced plastic tax is likely to provide real boost to UK’s mission to move towards circular economy, said sustainability authority Bureau Veritas.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer had announced the decision to introduce new plastics packaging tax with effect from April this year. Accordingly, manufacturers and importers are required to ensure that the plastic packaging has at least 30% recyclable material content in them. The violators of the law will be charged £200 per tonne. The move is part of government’s plans to increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging by 40%, he said.

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According to David Murray, technical director for sustainability at Bureau Veritas, the introduction of tax is in line with the public sentiment that UK businesses should need to do more to combat plastic waste. The tax, in addition to providing boost to circular economy, will also help to attract more investments in recycling infrastructure.

It must be noted that several of the major supermarkets and retail outlets across the UK have implemented strict actions to reduce usage of single-use plastic bags, which are considered as the main threat to our environment.