There has been much published about the new Plastic Packaging Tax that’s coming in to play on 1st April but, how will this affect Knighton Janitorial and more importantly, our customers?
Here is our ‘current’ understanding.
What is the Plastic Packaging Tax?
The Plastic Packaging Tax is explained on the Government website as a new tax that will apply to plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into, the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.
Who will it affect?
Any manufacturer or supplier that produces, or imports, 10 tonnes or more of plastic packaging in a 12-month period will need to register for the tax.
The tax will be at a rate of £200 per metric tonne so if a manufacturer produces 10 tonnes of plastic packing within a year and one tonne contains less than 30% recycled plastic, they will pay £200 in tax.
Why introduce the tax?
Despite the obvious answer, sceptics may still think it’s yet another ploy for the Government to top up their funds. Whether that’s true or not, single use plastic is a big problem for everyone, including those running the country.
Single use plastic relies on fossil fuels for production and is difficult to dispose of. Although recycling is possible, it can be problematic so the plastic often ends up in landfill or damaging the natural world. The Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) aims to tackle this problem by incentivising manufacturers and suppliers to consider greener, more sustainable alternatives.
How will this impact Knighton products?
The products that have the potential to be affected are liquids (eg soaps, sanitisers, chemicals, detergents) packaged in plastic bottles and containers such as trigger sprays, refill cartridges, 5lt /10lt containers etc and, products packaged in soft plastics such as wipes and cloths.
The Knighton k-Ultra range is already using Post Consumer Recycled Packaging and our k-Pro range will be rolled out in the next few months.
You may see slight variations in the colour or opacity of the packaging, which is the result of the higher recycled content. There will be no change to the formulations.
We will communicate any further changes to product packaging as and when it happens.
How may this impact Knighton customers?
Impact on customers, if any, is going to be indirectly. By actively working with suppliers to ensure they use the recycled packaging where possible and negotiating any price increases, we are endeavouring to mitigate any indirect impact altogether.
Our aspiration is that all customers can use the same products, at the same prices, supplied in sustainable packaging made of at least 30% recycled plastic.
Grey areas…
One question we keep being asked is ‘what about waste sacks?’
The Government states that refuse sacks will be subject to the tax if they are classed as single use consumer packaging. They also state that plastic packaging will be liable to the tax filled or unfilled.
That still doesn’t really answer the question but, our understanding, at this stage, is that waste sacks have very high recycled plastic content anyway so the likelihood of them being included in the tax is low. If they are included, any impact to customers would again, be indirectly.
Which is pretty much the take-home message.
In terms of Knighton products, we are committed to working with suppliers to ensure they use recycled packaging and to mitigate any impact the tax may have on customers, albeit it indirectly.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.