Energy and Environment / October 23, 2024

RECOUP calls for better Plastic Packaging Tax enforcement

RECOUP has called for “proper enforcement” of the Plastic Packaging Tax as it said recycled content claims are not being sufficiently verified or enforced.

Plastics resource efficiency and recycling charity RECOUP has called for a more effective version of the Plastic Packaging Tax in a new position statement.

The latest figures showed that Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) receipts collected by HMRC between 2023-24 totalled £285 million, a 6% decrease from the previous year.

The PPT tax is applied at a cost of £217.85 per tonne for plastic packaging placed on the UK market that does not contain 30% recycled content.

The tax applies to manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging components, which contain less than 30% recycled plastic.

Producers whose packaging contains 30% recycled plastic content are exempt but must still register with HMRC and prove the 30% threshold has been met.

RECOUP said an “intended consequence” of the PPT is claims of recycled content not being sufficiently verified or enforced, particularly for imported packaging into the UK.

Lack of enforcement is increasingly making the UK recyclers commercially unviable due to having to compete with cheap imports of virgin packaging.

The charity said there are some examples of producers claiming their packaging contains 30% recycled content, when it is either not technically possible or uses the term “pre-consumer” material, so it may not include any recycled content.

Steve Morgan, Head of Policy & Infrastructure at RECOUP, commented: “An incentive to include recycled content, even if it has to be a tax, is a force for good as long as it’s properly enforced.

“However, the UK imports around half the plastic packaging it places onto the market, and this includes packaging with claims of recycled content.

“Lack of enforcement is increasingly making the UK recyclers commercially unviable due to having to compete with cheap imports of virgin packaging and packaging with recycled content from countries with significantly lower cost base and greater access to material.

“If these false claims, particularly from imported material continue, we could see a collapse of the plastic packaging recycling system in the UK as we know it, and urgent action is needed.”

RECOUP has also called for an urgent review and overhaul of the Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system to provide a more stable, commercially supportive and modulated PRN for plastic packaging formats where it said targeted funding is needed the most.