Feature

Plastic taxes - measuring success

25 April 2023

Silke

Article by Silke Einschuetz
Senior Consultant Recycling & Sustainability at AMI

In April 2022, the UK government introduced a tax of £200/tonne (£210.82/tonne from 1st April 2023 in line with the Consumer Price Index) on packaging with less than 30% recycled content, with the definition of ‘recycled’ including materials from both mechanical & chemical recycling.

This latter point is of great relevance as there is consensus that 30% recycled content is impossible to achieve solely from mechanical recycling, especially where flexible packaging is concerned.

Today HMRC announced that, during the first three quarters of being in place, the tax has raised £208 million in revenue. Given that the estimated annual revenue was expected to be $235 million, the amount raised is likely to exceed its target if the development observed in the first three quarters of being in force continues into the fourth.

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