Paul Empson, General Manager, Bakers Basco – a bakery equipment company managing the use of standard plastic baskets for the delivery of bread – takes a look at some of the lesser-known elements of the Plastic Packaging Tax and calls for more recycled plastic.
via Shutterstock
Comment: Why PPT legislation has long-term implications for the plastics industry
Plastic recycling in Europe is a rapidly growing sector, representing over €7.7bn (~£6.5bn) in turnover. Yet recyclers in Europe are struggling to get enough sorted plastic waste, creating another obstacle to achieving EU targets, according to Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE).
As businesses around the world look to transition to a fully circular economy for plastics, this signals another setback. Added to this, the new Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) legislation, introduced in the UK on 1 April – which charges £200 per metric tonne for companies that manufacture or import 10+ tonnes of plastic packaging which consists of less than 30 per cent recycled content – and those operating in this space have some long-term hurdles ahead.
Don’t get me wrong; legislation is important and it’s encouraging to see government leaders taking the environmental impact of business seriously. But, as with most things, the problem is that they are missing the bigger, long-term picture on how to seriously solve this issue. The idea is there but did anyone really think about the fact that if a business has to switch to 30 per cent recycled material in their products, how and where would they get this new material?
The PPT applies to any plastic packaging – either made locally or imported. When it was first brought in, businesses had two choices: pay the packaging tax – which, as I mentioned before, is a lot of money for smaller businesses – or move to 30 per cent recycled material in your product. Like us, many made the decision to switch to recycled material.
But the problem with that now is that recycled material is in such high demand, the material is becoming harder to procure and more expensive. Unlike the PRE report, it’s not a case of simply having the resources to be able to sort the plastic, it’s a lack of the actual plastic itself. In the short-term, how many of us will be impacted? It’s hard to say. But moving forward into the next year and beyond, it could cause some serious issues in the plastics industry if a solution is not found. If more recycled material doesn’t become available somewhere along the supply chain, it’s going to have long-term implications for the whole plastics industry and beyond.
If there’s a shortage of recycled materials at the source, it becomes harder for processors to get and sell on. Take Bakers Basco, for example, if we are unable to source the 30 per cent recycled material to produce more baskets, we would then be put in a position whereby we would need to produce 100 per cent virgin material again and be liable for the expensive tax. Who would win in this scenario? The government and its purse, or the environment?
We’ve long talked about the benefits of a circular economy, promoting environmental policies to reuse and recycle, and ensuring that every product is as sustainable as possible. Plastic returnable transit packaging (RTP), such as Bakers Basco’s Omega bread basket, for example, was designed from 100 per cent virgin plastic as a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution for bakeries to deliver bread and other baked goods across the UK. It’s sturdy, reusable and it’s recycled once it reaches its 12-year life span – contributing in a positive way to the circular economy.
But until we have the capabilities to become completely self-sufficient and do our own recycling, we can’t solve the problem. If we didn’t have to rely on obtaining this 30 per cent recycled polymer plastic from external sources, under the PPT legislation, there’s a high chance that is one way to solve it. But until then, we need more recycled materials – and we need them soon.