
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the plastic packaging tax will be £200 per tonne from April 2022 in the Budget.
Any packaging containing less than 30% recycled content will be subject to the tax.
In the Budget document published after the Chancellor announced the Budget to Parliament, it said: “The Government is committed to improving waste management, boosting recycling and reducing plastic pollution
“Following consultation in spring 2019, the Government will introduce a new Plastic Packaging Tax from April 2022 to incentivise the use of recycled plastic in packaging and help tackle the scourge of plastic in the natural environment.”
The Government has launched a consultation on the Plastic Packaging Tax that is open until May 2020. This consultation seeks views on the scope of the tax, the liability of the tax and evidence bases.
The Chancellor also revealed that £700,000 will be invested in developing an IT system to administer the future Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for packaging.
A further £7.2 million will be invested in a national system to enable the smart tracking of waste movements across the country.
There will also be a £2 million fund to support innovative approaches to tackle fly-tipping.