Producers will only support a ‘plastics tax’ if there is evidence that money raised will be reinvested into the recycling system, according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
David Bellamy, senior environment policy manager at the FDF, made the comments when giving evidence to the Environment Bill Committee earlier today (10 March).
The government has said its preferred option is for a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content
He said that FDF members – which include Cadbury’s and Pepsico – won’t support the proposed system as it currently stands as there is no evidence in the Environment Bill that money raised will be reinvested into recycling.
Further details of exactly how the tax works is expected to be announced in tomorrow’s Budget. In a consultation response document last year the government said it’s preferred option was a tax on packaging with less than 30% recycled content, and pledged to introduce it by 2022.
‘Revolutionise’
When asked by recycling minister and committee member, Rebecca Pow, about the benefits that a shift to a circular economy would have on business, Mr Bellamy said: “Clearly, the powers in relation to EPR, a DRS and collection consistency combined, providing they are joined up, will revolutionise our system of recycling.
“However, money raised by producers should go towards improving the system, which is why we have an issue with the tax because it doesn’t adhere to that principle. We’re in support of reforming the EPR system through modulated fees which will then be used to improve the system.
“On PRNs, these prices have gone up exponentially on plastics and aluminium. Our members are paying hundreds of millions of pounds in extra costs and there is no evidence that these are going towards improving the system. That speaks to the point, we’re happy to pay the money but need it to go into the system and would like to meet with the minister on how we could rectify this PRN crisis as we regard it for our membership.”
You can see Mr Bellamy discussing the tax below a Parliament TV video.
Investment
Later in the evidence session, Martin Curtois, external affairs director at Veolia, said there was “a number of elements” in the Environment Bill which will give companies confidence to invest in facilities to boost domestic recycling.
“There are a number of principles within the bill pointing us in the right direction”
He was quizzed by Labour MP Alex Sobel, who asked if he was confident the measures would boost material quality, which recyclers “tell him often” is the biggest issue.
In response, Mr Curtois said: “Due to the changes in terms of China, the emphasis there and in many other markets is a race to the top.
“They’re insisting on premium quality, and if you provide quality bales it’s easier to find a market, but the overall value has fallen. It’s even more important that products being produced are able to be recycled easily, and into a clean product, and it’s vital we get that right from the start.
“There are a number of principles within the bill pointing us in the right direction. From the sector as a whole, if this bill becomes a reality and as a result make it easier for reprocessors to make a good product, the money is there to invest in domestic recycling infrastructure.”
Small business
Later in the evidence session, Andrew Poole, deputy head of policy at the Federation of Small Businesses, urged the government to make things easier for its members to “do the right thing”.
“Our members want to do the right thing and want to demonstrate to customers they are doping so. For example, small businesses are not allowed to take their waste to municipal waste collections despite many not using different waste, and it’s in that spirit that we need to make things as easy as possible for small firms to play a role”.
The bill committee will be holding a number of evidence sessions over the coming weeks, and is expected to report to parliament in May.
The post Plastics tax ‘not yet backed by producers’ appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
