From April 1, 2022, the United Kingdom will officially impose a plastic packaging tax of £ 200 per ton (about 1900 yuan) on plastic packaging manufactured or imported into the United Kingdom each year and less than 30% of recycled plastics are used. However, many food manufacturers have raised objections to the implementation of the new UK packaging tax.
Tax exemption for class III products
It is understood that three types of products are defined as not within the scope of Taxation, and enjoy tax exemption regardless of the proportion of recycled materials. The first category is that the products in the packaging need to be used together with the packaging in the whole product life cycle, such as toolbox, first aid kit, earphone or earplug box, nail enhancement set, glasses box, CD, DVD and video game box, chess board game box, etc.
The second category is packaging, which is an integral part of the product, including water cartridge filter, printer or toner box, inhaler, tea bag, room deodorant, perforated rice bag, lighter, dental floss box, etc. The third category is designed to display goods.
Questioning the new packaging tax
Public information shows that many food manufacturers oppose the implementation of the new UK packaging tax, because it will force them to raise prices and may exacerbate inflation. It is reported that several large food companies and industry representatives told the financial times that it is difficult for enterprises to understand and abide by the plastic packaging tax, which will take effect on April 1.
The food manufacturers said the government did not provide any exemption for materials that come into contact with food and cannot be recycled. Therefore, these enterprises have no choice but to pay taxes, which leads to increased costs, which may be passed on to other enterprises.
Nicky hunt, director of sustainable development at the food and beverage Federation, said: "Food and beverage manufacturers want to do the right thing and recycle more packaging, which is in line with the UK government and our own environmental goals. However, due to the restrictions on materials in contact with food, the production of food grade recycled resin is very scarce all over the world, and the end result is that enterprises bear more costs, which may lead to higher consumer prices. Our industry hopes that the government will take measures to further support and encourage recyclable packaging Innovation of packaging materials. "
According to the data of ICIS mechanical recycling supply tracker, food grade resin currently accounts for only 10% of the global annual production capacity of more than 45 million tons of recycled polymers. The study included recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET), recycled polyethylene (RPE) and recycled polypropylene (RPP).
Helene Roberts, chief executive of Robinson packaging, a plastic recycling company, and head of the plastics and flexible packaging group of the British Plastics Federation, said inflation would be an unintended consequence of taxes.
It believes that food grade items that cannot use recyclable plastics, such as soup dishes, should be exempted until technological progress is made in a few years. "This will only create inflationary pressure in the supply chain." Helene Roberts said.
An adviser to RSM, a leading global accounting firm, said the new tax would affect a wide range of enterprises, including retailers importing items such as luggage liners, beverage bottles and handbags, publishers of plastics for imported laminated books and freight suppliers of plastic packaging such as imported bubble paper, but food manufacturers would be one of the hardest hit enterprises.
Andrew Thurston, a tariff consultant at MHA, another accounting group, warned that importers would also find it "difficult and expensive" to obtain certification from overseas suppliers of recycled ingredients in packaging. This may lead companies to ignore calls for more sustainable materials.
