Duo is calling on the government to explain how it will reinvest Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) revenues to boost UK recycling and sustainability following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request that revealed the PPT has generated over £135m in the first six months.
The FOI request by packaging manufacturer Duo to HMRC shows the PPT has generated a total of £135,871,000 in the six months since it was introduced on 1st April 2022.
During this time, Duo says that 679,143 tonnes of plastic packaging have been liable for the tax and a levy of £200 is applied to every tonne of plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
The FOI request also shows that during the six months (April–September 2022), a total of 1,162,776 tonnes of plastic packaging was exempt from the PPT, Duo says.
This means that approximately 63% of declared plastic packaging during this time contained at least 30% recycled plastic content, the packaging manufacturer says.
The UK needs serious investment in closed-loop recycling infrastructure to meet increased demand for recycled material.
Zoe Brimelow, a Director at Duo believes trends during the first six months of the tax suggest that estimated first-year PPT revenues will exceed £270m.
She said: “Taking these numbers into account, it’s clear that the tax has been successful in creating greater demand for recycled plastic packaging and has generated a huge amount of money.
“The UK needs serious investment in closed-loop recycling infrastructure to meet increased demand for recycled material, and the funds generated by the tax present an opportunity to build a world-beating recycling infrastructure that can provide high value, high quality recycled materials to reduce dependency on virgin materials.
“PPT revenues could deliver this. At the very least, businesses that have invested in compliance to pay these taxes or invested heavily in new equipment and processes that contribute to a closed-loop recycling infrastructure should be informed about how hundreds of millions in new revenues will be used.”