INCPEN Newsletter
A message from Paul Vanston, INCPEN CEO
Dear Colleagues,
We’re in the early days of the Covid-19 national/global emergency.
Already there has been a magnificent industry response to ensuring the
continued health of the nation, and that people are fed. Supply chains
are being challenged but I’m proud of the individual and team efforts
being displayed by manufacturers, retailers, brands, recyclers and
reprocessors to ensure essential products are flowing (and packaged!)
with citizens’ health, safety and nourishment in mind.
Several of the news items summarised below display examples of measures
by companies to keep the country running, and to help SMEs in the supply
chain during their time of much-needed support. The teamwork across
trade bodies is also apparent.
Updates outlining the government’s interventions and latest advice are available from BEIS – see here. It will also likely be necessary to liaise regularly on issues where the governments need our guidance and support.
Events are unfolding at pace. Team efforts across our membership, with
the many friends and allies of the Trade Associations Group, and with
the four UK governments and the European Commission will be all the more
necessary as Covid-19 endures over the coming weeks.
My best wishes to all, and stay well.
Paul
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INCPEN Members (not including Trade Association Group colleagues) can see all legislation updates in full by clicking here. If you experience issues logging in, please contact Alison Skuse.
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Slovenia: MoE proposes massive packaging tax increase - 23 Mar 2020
The proposal follows Administrative Court rulings which prevent the
Environment Agency from holding producer responsibility organisations
(PROs) responsible for more mass of waste packaging than their members
report to place on the market.
Note: Slovenia’s EPR regime de facto uses a competing PRO approach. In
addition, the Government charges a tax when placing packaging and
products subject to EPR on the market, which - at only EUR 1.7 per tonne
POM for all except PVC packaging - finances the Government’s cost of
maintaining the producer register, etc.
Now the Ministry of Environment is consulting - until 31-Mar-20 - on
three draft legal texts* which propose to significantly increase this
‘tax’ on packaging POM for collective compliers. In more detail, the
Ministry proposes that – from 1-Jul-20 –
- the tax newly applies to the packaging of dangerous goods.
All producers of these products must register before 1-Jun-20. The 15
tons de minimis threshold applicable to other packaging does not
apply.
- the
tax rate for collective compliers is increased from EUR 1.7 per tonne
POM to rates of EUR 238 per tonne for plastics, EUR 119 for metal and
EUR 25.5 for paper** by increasing both factors of the tax: the
tax rate and the number of 'pollution unit' per kg of a material. The
tax rates for individual compliers remain unchanged.
- a separate material category is introduced for composite packaging and taxed at EUR 238 per tonne [Composite packaging was previously grouped with paper].
The new tax rates will generate estimated revenues of EUR 22 million per annum.
Reason for proposal
The Ministry explains that the tax increase has become necessary after
Administrative Court rulings in Nov-19 overturned decisions of the
Environmental Agency which required PRO's to manage all municipal
packaging waste generated - even if their total mass exceeded the total
POM mass of their members.
Following the rulings, the PROs limited the amount of waste packaging
waste they took over from municipalities. The MoE sees the tax
increase as a temporary measure to stabilize the system before a more
comprehensive revision of the legislation addresses the systemic
problems of the Slovenian EPR regime. It argues that the funding for
packaging waste should not be at the expense of the general taxpayer but
be borne by producers.
The MoE’s explanatory statement to the proposals goes to great lengths
to argue that the current 15 tonne exemption for small producers is not
the reason for the large differences in the mass of the packaging POM
and the mass of packaging waste generated. Instead, the difference would
notably lie in other waste found in containers of packaging waste,
product residues and data inaccuracy.
DRAFT Decree amending the Packaging Decree
DRAFT Decree amending and supplementing the Decree on the Environmental Tax on Packaging
DRAFT Decision fixing the amount and ‘pollution unit’ of the Environmental Tax on Packaging
* disposable plate or cup, food box, sandwich wrap, food foils
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Portugal and South Africa join Plastics Pact network - 4 Mar 2020
The two countries are the latest to join the growing network, now
consisting of 6 countries - the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands,
Chile, Portugal and South Africa.
South Africa
The South African Plastics Pact,
the first of its kind on the African Continent, was signed on
30-Jan-20. It was developed in partnership by the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF), the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the South
African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) and supported by the
Department of Environment. The founding members are the Clicks Group,
Coca-Cola Africa, Danone, Distell, HomeChoice, Massmart, Myplas, Nampak
Rigids, Pick n Pay, Polyoak, Polyplank, Shoprite Group, SPAR, Spur
Corporation, TFG, Tigerbrands, Tuffy, Unilever, ADDIS, Waste Plan and
Woolworths. A steering committee, comprised of the Pact’s founding
members and GreenCape, the Pact’s administrator, is formulating a
roadmap which will set clear goals and deadlines that are in line with
commitments of the New Plastics Global Economy Commitment.
Portugal
The Portuguese Plastics Pact,
signed on 4-Feb-20, is led by the Smart Waste Portugal Association and
supported by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action, the
Ministry of the Sea and the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition.
Founding members include Sonae, Jerónimo Martins, Lidl, Nestlé,
Unilever, Coca-Cola and Delta Café. Supporting partners include the
Federation of Portuguese Agro-food Industries (FIPA) and the Portuguese
Hotel, Restaurant and Similar Association (AHRESP). To finance the
implementation of the Pact, participating organisations will pay
membership fees of up to EUR 7,500 and annual fees of up to EUR 3,750,
depending on turnover. An implementing roadmap - entitled ‘Roadmap 2025’
- establishing the targets of the Pact is being drawn up.
Background
The Plastics Pacts are national public-private agreements for the
reduction of plastic waste and are based on the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s ‘New Plastics Global Economy Commitment’. Signatories commit to meet a range of targets by 2025:
- Eliminate
problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through
redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models such as
re-use.
- Make 100% of plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable.
- Ensure 70% of plastic packaging can be effectively recycled or composted.
- 30% average recycled content of all plastic packaging.
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Spain: Taxes proposed on SUP packaging - 4 Mar 2020
The Ministry of Finance is seeking public and stakeholder opinions on
proposed ‘green taxes’ on single-use plastic (SUP) packaging.
The objective of the tax on SUP packaging – proposed by the General Directorate of Taxes – is to
- discourage their use and encourage sustainable production and consumption; and
- increase
Spain’s environmental tax revenues, which are considered to be among
the lowest in the EU [the Ministry of Finance notes revenues from
environmental taxes in Spain account for approx. 1.83% of GDP, compared
to an EU average of 2.40%, justifying tax raises in this area].
[Note: Taxes on air transportation have also been proposed]
Further details are sparse. The Ministry does not include a regulatory
proposal, nor propose specific figures or explain how the taxes will be
applied, as these will be left for deliberation once comments have been
received.
The General Directorate of Taxes notes increases in the generation of
plastic packaging waste, which have reached pre-EU financial crisis
levels (1.6 million tons of plastic waste generated in 2017) despite
light-weighting reaching current technical limits.
The public consultation opened on 28-Feb-20 and closed on 14-Mar-20.
The proposal for the ‘green taxes’ follows the left-wing coalition
government's approval on 18-Feb-20 of a tax on certain financial
transactions tax ('Tobin' tax, 0.2% tax on sales of shares of large
companies) and a tax on digital services ('Google tax', 3% on
advertising, online intermediation and data sales revenues).
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- Coronavirus: UK faces cardboard shortage due to crisis; Recycling Association warns of serious impact on supplies of food and medicine packaging.
- DS Smith creates boxes for safer delivery during COVID-19; In
addition to providing critical support to keep goods moving and
replenish shelves as quickly as possible, focus has quickly turned to
home delivery to move goods directly to the front door of those who
aren’t able to make it to the shops.
- Coronavirus: latest retailer announcements; Coronavirus
poses a challenge for retailers, staff and customers. To continue to
deliver the best service for customers, while protecting their customers
and staff, retailers are taking a range of actions. We will be
providing a daily summary of actions taken by individual retailers in
response to the developing situation.
- Glass industry expresses concerns to First Minister; British
Glass has written to the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon
expressing concern and disappointment in relation to the Deposit Return
Scheme (DRS) regulations which were laid despite economic uncertainty
surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
- FPA wants delay on Welsh single-use plastics ban; Announced
last week, the Welsh administration outlined its plans to ban what it
claimed are unnecessary single-use plastic items, such as straws and
drink containers, by early 2021. However, in a letter to the Welsh
Government, the FPA’s executive director Martin Kersh has called for a
delay on the ban up to 2022 and outlined how demands on the packaging
industry have grown considerably following the outbreak of the
coronavirus.
- Scientists find bug that feasts on toxic plastic; Bacterium is able to break down polyurethane, which is widely used but rarely recycled.
- Packing firms struggle to meet rising demand for hand sanitisers; Packing companies are struggling to keep up with the demand for hand sanitisers in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Report addresses how EPR can help stabilize US municipal recycling systems; The
report outlines problems faced by U.S. recycling programs and how
extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in four Canadian
provinces have increased packaging recovery and recycling, reduced
contamination and developed markets for difficult-to-recycle materials.
- Covid-19 and the parliamentary process: initial observations; The
Covid-19 virus, our personal health and safety and the response by the
government and public health authorities are rightly occupying much of
our work and home life at present. A rapid metamorphosis in how
parliament operates is underway to deal with the threat. This could lead
to both opportunities and challenges for how we engage with
parliamentarians, how laws will be scrutinised and how the government
will be held to account (Green Alliance blog).
- Coveris reduces CO2 emissions at Egyptian site to almost zero; In
line with Coveris’ global strategy, the company said its plants across
Europe and Middle East are working continuously to reduce their
environmental footprint.
- How self-isolation can bring us closer together; A strange side effect of government-mandated self-isolation is that it can bring you closer to people than ever.
- WRAP launches £1.5m grant fund to support textiles projects; WRAP
is offering a total of £1.5 million in grants to support projects that
provide innovative ways for textile waste to be recycled or re-used,
keeping it out of landfill or incineration so that it remains a valuable
resource.
- Welsh government plans to ban single-use plastics from next year; Measure to target items such as straws, cutlery and polystyrene food and drink containers.
- Why energy efficient buildings should be a top climate policy priority; This
blog is by Dr Peter Mallaburn, a researcher from the Centre for
Research into Energy Demand Solutions. It is part of a series reflecting
on the need for energy demand reduction in the UK.
- Veolia now delivering low-carbon heat in Leeds; Veolia
has begun providing homes in Leeds with low-carbon heat from its
Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF) site in the area.
- Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme pushed back to 2022; Final
regulations for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme have now been laid in
the Scottish Parliament by Scotland’s Environment Secretary, Roseanna
Cunningham.
- EU should scrap emissions trading scheme, Polish official says; The
European Union should scrap its Emissions Trading System or exempt
Poland from the scheme, which helps combat global warming, to free up
funds for Warsaw to fight the effects of the coronavirus, a senior
Polish official said.
- Council waste services face emergency measures; Households
could be asked to store recyclable goods in the long term if the
coronavirus outbreak forces local authorities to reduce waste
collections.
- New study shows how long coronavirus survives on different packaging materials; According
to the study, the virus could still be detected on polypropylene and
stainless steel up to 72 hours after it was applied. Meanwhile, the
virus could apparently be detected on cardboard up to 24 hours after it
was contaminated.
- UK must invest £7.5bn in infrastructure to deal with plastic waste; Waste
and infrastructure business Peel Environmental – part of Peel L&P –
has said that the UK needs to invest over £7.5bn in infrastructure to
deal with plastic waste over the next 10 years.
- Packaging and Covid-19; Once
in a while, we’re reminded that all of our plans and aspirations are
dependent on basic conditions and assumptions that remain invisible –
until they are threatened. The world has watched the spread of the
coronavirus largely in a state of powerless concern.
- Fibersort launches to revolutionise recycling of post-consumer textiles;Fibersort,
a Near Infrared (NIR) based technology, is able to categorise textiles
in 45 different fractions based on their fibre composition and colour.
The machine can sort approximately 900 kg of post-consumer textiles per
hour, enabling a closed loop textiles solution.
- Neste and Mirova back Recycling Technologies to accelerate transition to circular economy for plastic; Neste,
the world’s leading provider of renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel,
and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, and
Mirova, a pioneer impact investor in the natural capital space and an
affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, today announce a combined EUR
10 million investment into Recycling Technologies Ltd (‘Recycling
Technologies’), a specialist plastic recycling technology provider. The
aim is to accelerate the development of chemical recycling and foster
the transition to a circular economy for plastic.
- FPA 2020 Awards; A
sparkling FPA Awards Night took place at The Grand Brighton on 5th
March, with the industry celebrating innovation, creativity,
sustainability and outstanding service.
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