HMRC has collected £276 million in Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) during its first year.
The tax was introduced in April 2022 as a £200 per tonne levy placed on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content. It was introduced as an economic incentive to use recycled plastic in packaging and stimulate an uptake in recycling and collection of plastic waste.
As of 8 August 2023, there were 4,142 businesses registered to the PPT. Of all the total plastic packaging manufactured in and imported into the UK, 39% was declared as taxable under the PPT.
Regarding the remaining 61%, 40% contained 30% or more recycled plastic, 21% was either exported, intended for export or converted and less than 1% was exempt because it was used for the immediate packaging of human medicines.
HMRC stated that of the total plastic packaging declared 52% was manufactured in the UK and 48% was imported into the UK.
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Recoup chief executive Stuart Foster told the Independent the government needs to use the money to develop recycling and circular economy systems.
He said: “It seems crazy that money raised through a tax that has been designed to encourage the use of recycled content in plastic packaging could not, at least in part, be used to help stimulate the very markets it is trying to develop and support recycled content verification systems.”
Recycling Association chief executive Paul Sanderson said the tax should be part of the overall Extended Producer Responsibility scheme and that it’s “disappointing that these have been delayed by the government.”
“We need to get on with rolling out these programmes that will make it easier for people to recycle at home, while also building a much stronger recycling industry,” he added.
