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Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1st April 2022
Amends: New Legislation
The Plastic Packaging Tax was introduced by the Finance Act 2021 to encourage the use of recycled plastic instead of new plastic material within plastic packaging. The tax will apply to chargeable plastic packaging components produced in the United Kingdom (UK) or imported into the UK by an organisation.
Section 48 of the Finance Act defines packaging components as products that are designed for containing, protecting, handling, delivering or presenting goods at any stage in the supply chain from producer to user or customer; these can be either alone or in combination with other products.
An amendment to the definition of packaging components is necessary to ensure that the tax is properly targeted. Instead of an exhaustive list, the definition uses categories to describe the products, which will allow additional products to be added without the need for further legislation.
The definition is amended by the:
The definition of ‘packaging component’ is changed by removing the following categories of packaging products that do not contribute towards environmental harm.
Packaging products that are mainly designed for long-term storage by consumers, and are suitable for re-use as storage for similar goods, are removed from the definition of ‘packaging component’. These products typically do not contribute to plastic pollution. Examples of these include:
For the full list of exceptions & exemptions, the full piece of legislation is available in The Legislation Update Service.
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If you are a UK producer or importer of plastic packaging, including an importer of plastic packaging that already contains goods (e.g. plastic bottles filled with drinks), you must prepare for it.
Put simply, the Plastic Packaging Tax is a new environmental tax coming into effect on 1st April this year, to encourage the use of recycled rather than new plastic in plastic packaging for a more sustainable business practice. If you are a UK producer or importer of plastic packaging, including an importer of plastic packaging that already contains goods (e.g. plastic bottles filled with drinks), you must prepare for it.
The new tax will be payable for chargeable plastic packaging components* produced in or imported into the UK by an organisation for commercial purposes. The rate of tax will be £200 per metric tonne (1,000 kg) of plastic packaging. (N.B. In the case of imported plastic packaging that already contains goods, the tax will only apply to the plastic packaging itself.)
*Chargeable plastic packaging components are finished plastic packaging components (meaning they have undergone their last substantial modification which is when they are packed or filled), with less than 30% recycled plastic when measured by weight.
A few examples of plastic packaging items that could be subject to the tax, depending on their recycled plastic content, are plastic:
Some organisations may be exempt from the tax, however if the plastic packaging they produce, or import is for:
You will need to register for the Plastic Packaging Tax if you have manufactured or imported 10 or more tonnes of plastic packaging within the last 12 months, or will do so in the next 30 days. But, keep in mind that you only need to pay the tax for chargeable plastic packaging components, so if your plastic packaging contains at least 30% recycled plastic, or is exempt from the tax, you will not have to pay.
Every manufacturer and importer of plastic packaging must keep records of the packaging they manufacture or import, even if they are not required to register or pay the Plastic Packaging Tax. This is to prove that their organisation is exempt.
If you manufacture or import plastic packaging components, you will need to submit a tax return to HMRC every financial quarter, then pay any tax due no later than the last working day of the following month. Where plastic packaging intended for export is shipped within 12 months however, the tax liability will be cancelled.
These are the key things to know about for now, but further information on how to register for the tax, record keeping, and tax returns will be published by the Government within further regulations and guidance prior to April 2022, so keep an eye out for them in your register.
Jurisdiction: England
Commencement: 1st January 2021
Amends: Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 set annual business targets for the recycling of packaging waste and apply to all businesses that produce or use packaging. They place an obligation on such businesses to contribute towards the cost of recycling their packaging waste.
This amendment only applies in England.
The current packaging waste recovery and recycling targets expire at the end of 2020. This amendment introduces new recycling targets for 2021 and 2022 and completely removes the obligation to meet recovery targets, with the intention of further increasing levels of recycling across industry.
To implement the new recycling targets and remove the obligation to meet recovery targets, changes have been made to the method for calculating recycling obligations in Schedule 2. These changes include;
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Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 27th August 2020
Amends: European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014
The European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 place legal responsibility on businesses and companies to ensure packaging waste is recycled as much as possible.
These Regulations lay down measures aimed at preventing the generation of packaging waste to reduce final disposal and to contribute to the transition towards a circular economy.
New requirements are inserted for all producers* to recover and recycle packaging waste.
*A producer sells or supplies packaging material, packaging or packaged products to others.
Before 31st December 2025, producers who import packaged products or put product into packaging (i.e. packers or fillers) must take steps to ensure that at least 65% by weight of all packaging waste is recycled.
The following minimum targets by weight for recycling are to be met no later than 31st December 2025:
From 1st January 2026, any producer who imports packaged products or puts products into packaging must take steps to ensure that at least 70% by weight of all packaging waste is recycled. The following minimum targets for recycling by weight are to be met no later than 31st December 2030:
The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (The Minister) is required to ensure that preventative measures are implemented to prevent the generation of packaging waste and to minimise the environmental impact of packaging.
Such preventative measures include, but are not limited to:
The Minister must take measures to encourage an increase in the availability of reusable packaging, without compromising food hygiene or the safety of the consumer.
Such measures may include:
After consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Minister may adjust the recycling target for each material.
Return, collection and recovery systems
The Minister is required to take the necessary measures to ensure that systems are set up to provide for:
By 31st December 2024, the Minister is required to ensure that extended producer responsibility schemes are established for all types of packaging. The Minister is also required to take measures to promote high quality recycling of packaging waste and to meet the necessary quality standards for the relevant recycling sectors.
Data to be included in the packaging and packaging waste databases
Schedule 5 introduces a list of data to be included in relation to primary, secondary and tertiary packaging and household and non-household packaging waste.
The quantities for each category of material of packaging consumed, reused, recycled and recovered are to be included in the database.
Schedule 6 introduces the implementation plan to be submitted by the Minister. This must contain the following:
An effective system of quality control and traceability of packaging waste is to be established to ensure these Regulations are met.
The EPA is required to calculate the weight of packaging waste generated and recycled per calendar year (i.e. 1st January – 31st December). The weight of packaging waste recycled is to be measured when the waste enters the recycling operation.
The weight of packaging waste generated and recycled is to be calculated by:
Where biodegradable packaging waste enters treatment, it may be counted as recycled where the treatment generates the following output:
Where the output is used on land, it may count as recycled only if it benefits agriculture or provides ecological improvement.
Please note: As a result of Directive (EU) 2018/852 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, any packaging containing oxo-degradable plastic is not to be considered as biodegradable.
*oxo-degradable plastic packaging is made from plastic materials that include additives that breaks down the plastic material into micro-fragments.
The following end-of-waste materials are not to be counted towards the achievement of recycling targets:
The EPA may take into account the recycling of metals separated after incineration, provided the recycled metals meet the quality criteria laid down in Article 11a(9) of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste (the ‘Waste Framework Directive’).
The EPA is required to report data on reusable packaging for each calendar year to the European Commission. This must be submitted in accordance with the formats established under Article 12 and Annex III of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and waste, as amended.
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Jurisdiction: EU
Commencement: Comes into force on the 30th of January 2020. Applies from the 1st of January 2020
Amends: Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures
Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures introduces a globally harmonised system of classification and labelling of chemicals into European law. It supplements the REACH Regulation for the registration, assessment, authorisation and restrictions concerning chemical substances. The Regulations require that substances and mixtures are classified according to the physical hazards, the health hazards or the environmental hazards that they create. They also detail the labelling and packaging requirements.
Amendments are made to article 25 (Supplemental information on the label) and article 29 (Exemptions from labelling and packaging requirements) to give additional clarification on where unique formula identifiers* (‘UFIs’) are to be placed on products.
* A unique formula identifier is a unique code of letters and numbers that links the information on the composition of a mixture or a group of mixtures to a specific mixture or group of mixtures.
Amendments are also made to Annex VIII (Harmonised information relating to emergency health response and preventative measures), which was introduced by Regulation (EU) 2017/542 amending Regulation (EC) 1272/200 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures by adding an Annex on harmonised information relating to emergency health response (‘2017 Regulations’), in order to streamline its interpretation and mitigate some unintended consequences of its introduction.
Amendments are made to provide clarification on the placing on labels of UFIs. The places that a UFI can be displayed are:
Extension to the compliance date for consumer products
The deadline for submitters placing hazardous mixtures on the market for consumer use (as outlined in Annex VIII of Regulation (EC) 1272/2008) to start complying with the new rules has been extended from 1st January 2020 to 1st January 2021. This is to allow sufficient time to develop necessary solutions to unforeseen problems with the 2017 Regulations (e.g. the difficulty of knowing the exact composition of products in cases involving complex supply chains).
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