Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2022 - 10

opinion
Our market-based system leans
heavily on reliable and transparent
data to avoid market volatility
local authorities and waste collectors
to develop and maintain
infrastructure.
Unfortunately, in the last few
years, the UK market has been
highly volatile, which shows
the urgent need for reform of
the PRN system and increased
scrutiny of submitted data and
quantities of materials being
collected and reprocessed.
More accountability for how
It's time to do
what matters
Plastic is everywhere, and we suddenly decided it was
a terrible thing. It was part of the fabric of our lives -
and now a worldwide revolt continues to gather pace.
By Andrew McCaffrey.
D
espite years of appeals
and encouragement,
plastic
pollution is only
getting worse. For all this wave
of activity, the scale of the plastic
problem appears to dwarf
the eff orts of business and industry.
The reality is that the
world produces twice as much
plastic waste as it did two decades
ago, with the bulk of it
ending up in landfill, incinerated
or leaking into the environment.
Only around 14% of
plastic packaging is
currently collected for
recycling globally.
Addressing the complexities of
production and consumption
needed to stem the flow of plastics
into nature is ultimately a
transboundary issue. We have
already seen a combination of
levers adopted by governments
worldwide to address the plas10
tic
pollution crisis, including
bans, taxes, charges, regulations,
and legislation.
While their varying levels of
success, or otherwise, have been
the topic of much debate, we can
all agree that future endeavours
will be largely contingent on data
- and plenty of it! We must strive
for total transparency to ensure
legislation is optimised.
New, stricter sustainability regulations
are emerging on multiple
fronts with increasing frequency.
However, regulatory focus and
approaches vary considerably
by region and diverge even further
when viewed at the country
or state level. This is making the
fast-changing regulatory landscape
complex to navigate.
EPR: let's make it work
Never mind the war of words in
the UK between the Food and
Drink Federation (FDF) and
the government. It won't add
to our bills, add to inflation, or
exacerbate the cost-of-living
September/October 2022
crisis. The companies who put
packaging on the market pay
instead. If they use less packaging
or make it easier to recycle,
it will cost them less too. EPR
does what it says on its tin - albeit
a complex tin.
When discussing EPR from a
euro-centric viewpoint, we must
remember that most countries
opted for a tax-based system,
where the money raised goes
directly into the system, and
the cost of the tax is estimated
to achieve the target. Our market-based
system leans heavily
on reliable and transparent data
to avoid market volatility and
bases its fees on how easily the
target can be achieved. It is fair
to say this is more than a leap
of faith in our packaging data
infrastructure.
Data is the beating heart of
this transformation: a mix of
taxation to encourage sustainable
packaging; transparent
reporting of quantified targets;
a strong focus on citizen behaviour
change; and support for
revenue generated by the packaging
recovery note (PRN) system
is spent will be needed to
ensure the market-based system
survives in the long term.
While some have been concerned
about rising PRN prices
in recent months, the main driver
behind the UK achieving its
highest volume of plastic packaging
recycling in Q2 this year
was the investment in waste
management from central and
local government, along with
the landfill tax escalator.
We need to develop a system
that creates accountable funding
for local authorities. Although
complex to achieve, greater data
transparency and a floor and ceiling
price cap on Packaging Recovery
Notes (PRNs) should go
a long way toward stabilising the
market and funding much-needed
investment in infrastructure
development.
Packaging companies must
be plugged into regulatory
developments - personally or
by proxy - and track changes
in their core markets. At the
same time, they will need to
develop capabilities to acquire
an in-depth understanding of
legislative measures, scope,
and application and the implications
for their own business
and customers.
Unpacking the
UK plastic tax
Designed to change behaviour
and encourage the use of recycled
content, the UK government
recently ushered in the
Plastic Packaging Tax ('PPT').
Under the PPT, a £200 per tonne
tax will apply to plastic packaging
containing less than 30%
recycled content. The measure
could aff ect up to 20,000 packaging
producers and importers.
As new requirements continue
to emerge, meaning more
Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2022

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