The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has revealed in his 2020 Budget that the plastic packaging tax will see companies paying £200 per tonne of packaging made from less than 30 per cent plastic from April 2022, according to Circular Online.
The new tax has been created to encourage companies to use more recycled plastic and was announced as part of the 2020 Budget, which GOV.UK describes as “the first budget of a new government, the first of a new decade, and the first since the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU).”
The Budget 2020 report issued following Sunak’s announcement says: “The government will keep the level of the rate and threshold under review to ensure that the tax remains effective in increasing the use of recycled plastic.
“The government will also extend the scope of the tax to the importation of filled plastic packaging and apply a minimum threshold of 10 tonnes of plastic packaging to ensure the smallest businesses are not disproportionately impacted.”
The plastic packaging tax was initially announced in the 2018 Budget and was brought into consultation in spring 2019.
The Chancellor added that an additional £700,000 will be used to establish the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, which will encourage producers to make packaging more recyclable and reduce unnecessary packaging.
If businesses are not compliant by 2022, then they would be facing stiff penalties, and any additional charges will likely be passed on to the consumer unless there are stipulations put in place to prevent this.
If you need plastic container security seals, then get in touch today.
