Glass chiefs have warned that the forthcoming packaging recovery tax could change the cost or taste of popular Christmas foods.
Ministers last month confirmed plans to introduce extended producer responsibility rules for packaging waste in 2025/26.
Revised illustrative fees published in October suggest glass producers will be charged a maximum of £215 per tonne while plastic makers will be hit with a levy of up to £520 per tonne.
However, trade body British Glass said the much heavier nature of its members’ containers meant they would become unviable for many items.
Christmas favourites such as mulled wine and cranberry sauce could either rocket in price, disappear from shelves or be packaged in less suitable materials, it warned.
British Glass chief executive Dave Dalton described extended producer responsibility as “a hammer blow for the industry, manufacturers and consumers” as well as “absolute madness”.
He added: “This could be the Last Christmas for favourite products that are traditionally packaged in glass. Christmas isn’t the same without our favourite bottles and jars and some manufacturers simply can’t package in plastic, which can distort flavour, necessitating the addition of extra preservatives, and some food is simply better hot-filled in glass.”
The government has previously described extended producer responsibility for packaging as “a vital first step for our packaging reforms, which will create 21,000 jobs and stimulate more than £10bn investment in the recycling sector over the next decade”.
