Consultation on single-use plastics receives largest response in Treasury’s history

The call to evidence on plastic waste and litter announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement has received 162,000 responses - the largest number in the Treasury’s history. 

In a statement summarising the responses to the consultation on August 18, Philip Hammond said the Government would consider the evidence received from all stakeholders, before announcing the policy changes as part of the Budget statement in Autumn. 

The most "promising policies", he wrote, included ideas to use tax to encourage the use of recycled plastics in manufacturing; reduce the use of difficult-to-recycle plastics; reduce demand for commonly littered ‘single-use’ coffee cups and takeaway boxes and to incentivise recycling of waste that is currently incinerated.

He said that through the revenues generated from these taxes, he is “committed to investing to develop new, greener products and processes” and referenced the allocation of £20million in plastics innovation funding announced earlier this year as an example of such action. 

PRN Reform? 

The document outlines that “the vast majority of responses from organisations advocated reform of the packaging waste regulations in some form or other”.

In response to this, the Government says it “recognises that industry are concerned about coherence between any taxes or charges and PRN reform, as well as inconsistency across the UK” and that it will work to developed joined-up policy. 

As well as the public, responses to the consultation came from representatives of 222 organisations,manufacturers, environmental groups, retailers and recyclers. 

You can read the full outcome of the consultation here.