On 9 May 2022 the UK published research on the plastic packaging tax. The research was conducted in 2019 with businesses that are involved in handling plastic packaging. The research aimed to understand how different types of businesses handle plastic packaging and to gain further insight into the impact of imposing a tax on the use of recycled plastic content in plastic packaging.

The research involved a random probability telephone survey of 1,589 businesses, and some in-depth interviews with 40 organisations, carried out between May and July 2019. Businesses of all sizes were included in the survey and were asked to provide information on the main types of plastic packaging they handled. The in-depth interviews covered local authorities, waste handlers, wholesalers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) including convenience stores.

The industry is characterised by a highly interlinked supply chain, with products and packaging passing through many different businesses, both before and after they have been used by consumers. The research indicated that manufacturers have an important role in determining the design and the proportion of recycled plastic packaging that is included in the products. Households are part of the supply chain, as they separate plastic waste for recycling, although they often do not possess the knowledge to do this correctly.

Six in ten businesses surveyed that were reporting on all their plastic packaging did not know the average proportion of recycled plastic content of the packaging they handled or the proportion of plastic with at least 30% of recycled plastic content. Awareness of the content of primary plastic packaging was limited unless there was a business reason to know this. Smaller businesses noted that plastic packaging often lacked detailed information from the manufacturers in relation to the content.

Half of businesses reporting on all their plastic packaging were planning to increase the recycled plastic content in their packaging. The main factor influencing the amount of recycled plastic content was cost, but other factors included the lack of demand for this from customers and concerns about quality.

More than half the businesses in the survey reporting on all their plastic packaging as a whole expected the introduction of the plastic packaging tax to increase their use of recycled plastic material. There would need to be a definite incentive for using more recycled plastic content, as businesses were motivated by cost and by consumer demand. Businesses indicated that their purchasing decisions would change if there were signals from consumers that they wanted them to use plastic packaging with a higher recycled plastic content.

The research indicated that personal motivation and ethical aspects were also important in decisions, including environmental concerns. Some businesses noted that industry standards on handling food and medical products would be a problem in certain industries when the tax was introduced.

Only 27% of the businesses surveyed kept records on the recycled plastic content in the plastic packaging they received. The research noted however that waste collectors, re-processors and local authorities need to keep detailed records to enable them to report to environmental regulators.

Around 48% of the businesses surveyed considered that it would be easy to assess the level of recycled plastic content in the plastic packaging. Around 81% of the businesses who did not keep records on the recycled plastic content expected that they could implement a system to do so within two years.

The businesses considered that the tax would encourage greater use of recycled plastic but there was concern about how tax compliance could be monitored. In addition to manufacturers reporting their inputs and outputs it was considered that the government should legislate to require clear labelling by manufacturers and importers of the proportion of recycled plastic content. Clear labelling would give consumers and retailers the opportunity to choose products with more recycled plastic content.

With effect from 1 April 2022 the UK introduced a tax on plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.