Over three quarters of British businesses still unaware of Plastic Packaging Tax
With a few days to go until its implementation , Veolia reports that 77 % of British retail and manufacturing businesses are still unaware of the impending Plastic Packaging Tax .
Research conducted by YouGov , on behalf of Veolia , explored the views of Britishbased senior decision makers across retail and manufacturing businesses on the incoming Plastic Packaging Tax . The tax places a £ 200 per tonne levy on producers or importers of plastic packaging if they do not include 30 % recycled content and will come into force from 1 April 2022 . 36 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk
The survey found that only a fifth ( 22 %) of the manufacturing and retail businesses asked had already opted for recycled content in their packaging . To reach the UK ’ s Net Zero goals , far more businesses must reduce their reliance on virgin materials . The majority of British retail and manufacturing businesses also support an escalator in percentage of recycled content threshold ( 63 %) and cost charge ( 50 %) as an incentive to use recycled content .
Veolia Northern Europe Zone Senior Executive Vice President , Gavin Graveson , said ;
“ The UK ’ s Plastic Packaging Tax is the right way to start getting businesses to push sustainability up the agenda , but it needs to go further . A tax escalator would make choosing to incorporate recycled content in packaging both economically and environmentally preferable to using virgin materials .
“ Not only could the UK save up to 2.89 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year if all plastic packaging included 30 % recycled content , it would also incentivise investment in domestic infrastructure which could make the UK a world leader in plastics recycling .”