'Plastic Tax' Proposal Garners Massive Public Support

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The proposal to implement tax system to cut plastic waste has received overwhelming support from U.K individuals and businesses. According to Treasury publication, its recent call on using tax-based scheme for tackling plastic waste received 162,000 responses, which is the highest in its history. The high response rate highlights the strong feeling amongst public in dealing with harmful plastic waste. The views are expected to influence the government’s budget proposals too.

According to Robert Jenrick, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, the unprecedented response indicates that the public is right behind the government in all its efforts to embark on the grave issue of plastic pollution. The government is overwhelmed by the public support and responses. This will instill confidence in the government to pursue additional fiscal interventions to prevent plastic usage, he added.

Meantime, sources indicate that the U.K government could soon impose a ‘latte levy’ totaling 25p on throwaway plastic coffee cups. Estimates by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) suggest that nearly 2.5 billion disposable cups are thrown away each year. The government had rejected the earlier proposal of 25p charge by the EAC and had decided to stick with voluntary discounts for reusable cups.

The money raised through the 25p levy on the cups will be utilized towards improving the U.K’s recycling infrastructure.