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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

INCPEN Member News


30 March 2020

Dow to expand hand sanitiser production in North America, Europe & Latin America


27 March 2020

Boots UK Supports the Government to Open COVID-19 Testing Facilities for NHS Workers


27 March 2020

UK aid and Unilever to target a billion people in global handwashing campaign


26 March 2020

Nestlé steps up global COVID-19 response, joins forces with the Red Cross & Red Crescent


26 March 2020

Unilever pledges early payment support for supply chain


26 March 2020

Boots UK donates essential toiletries to NHS front line workers in Nottingham


25 March 2020

kp completes major Pharma Capacity Expansion in Cotia, Brazil


24 March 2020

P&G’s Global Disaster Relief team discusses efforts to keep vital products on the shelves


23 March 2020

Dow commits $3m to aid COVID-19 relief efforts & adjusts processes to produce hand sanitizer


22 March 2020

McDonald’s pledges to remove non-sustainable hard plastic from its iconic Happy Meal


21 March 2020

M&S sparks neighbourly action with new fund to mobilise over 1,000 local charities across UK


21 March 2020

Sainsbury’s introduces separate priority shopping times for NHS staff & elderly customers


20 March 2020

Vicks® Donates $1 million for COVID-19 Health Care Relief


20 March 2020

Kevin Vyse explores the implications of the coronavirus on the packaging industry


19 March 2020

Dedicated shopping hour for NHS staff



16 March 2020

Furnace of the future to cut CO₂ by 50%


11 March 2020

Ball acquires Tubex, an aluminum aerosol packaging business in Brazil


11 March 2020

Unilever signs European Plastics Pact


10 March 2020

Berry Global produces materials critical for Coronavirus defense; expands wipes capacity


5 March 2020

Danone's water brands launch 'weactforwater' to pioneer a new way to do business

Legislation Updates

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.

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

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.

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
  1. discourage their use and encourage sustainable production and consumption; and
  2. 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).

News from Industry

  • 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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