As the 5th negotiations on the Global Plastic Treaty held in Busan, South Korea comes to an end without a conclusive deal we must lament the lost opportunity of charting a more sustainable pathway for our use of plastics.
The stakes are high left unchecked plastic production will triple by 2060 and this is significant if you analyse the manner in which we currently manage this material. The UN estimates that in the World 40% goes to landfill, 32% is lost in our environment, 14% is incinerated, 10% is recycled and 4% is lost in the recycling process. The debate in Busan simplified centred on two views, the reduction of plastic production or better recycling. Part of the solution for better recycling was to incentivise recycled content via a “plastic premium” or tax as we would describe it.
We in the U.K. introduced a plastic tax three years ago and is currently standing at £217.85 ton. Plastic products containing 30% or more of recycled polymer would be exempt from the tax. Three years on we see the plastic recycling sector under intense financial pressure with several high profile failures recently. If the tax can be bypassed by insufficient compliance checks the demand for recycled polymers is insufficient and the price doesn’t support the capital required to capture this material and a circular economy cannot be achieved.
Plastic tax alongside the Extended Producer Responsiblity, Deposit Return Scheme and European Trading Scheme (carbon tax) all focus on the decarbonisation of the current residual waste stream which is essential to curb the present significant emissions from Energy from Waste Plants.
The Government has as a central mission the economic growth of the U.K. and therefore needs to recognise how the waste and recycling sector can deliver significant investment and creation of green jobs. Taking only the plastic part of our sector they could unlock up to £1 Billion in investment and create around 3000 jobs and assist in the decarbonisation of the waste stream. When you add the benefit of greater material security by creating the secondary raw materials needed by U.K. manufacturing this is an obvious sector to support.
The U.K. needs to be bold and use green instruments to effect positive environmental change. However the effectiveness of policy relies on strong compliance which with regards to the plastic tax is not functioning.
