Recycled Plastic Buckets

Plastic Packaging Tax – UPDATED

From 1st April 2024

In the Autumn statement of 2023 the government announced that in future, the rate of PPT will increase in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI). The change will take effect from 1 April 2024.

Therefore from the 1st April 2024 the rate of plastic packaging tax as set out in section 45 of the Finance Act 2021 will increase from £210.82 per tonne to £217.85 per tonne for plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled materials imported into the UK.

What is the Plastic Packaging Tax?

In 2018 the UK government added the plastic packaging tax (PPT) to its flagship environmental and sustainability planning scheme. The new tax came into force on 1st April 2022. It is advised that companies check the government website to familiarise themselves with the new tax, find out what records they need to keep and get ready to register.

PPT is a tax on the manufacture or import of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content.

There are two types of plastic packaging that are subject to the tax

Plastics in the supply chain

If a plastic packaging component contains, protects, handles, presents or delivers the goods, it is subject to the tax.

Examples of packaging that are in the supply chain are;

film around meat in the supermarket to protect it,

yoghurt pots to handle and deliver the product,

buckets to handle, present and deliver fish bait.

Single use by the consumer

If the plastic packaging contains, protects, handles, presents or delivers the goods to the consumer or user, it is subject to the tax.

Examples of packaging that is single use are

plastic bags,

party cups,

sticky tape.

There are many more examples on the HMRC website.

Are products supplied by Victoria Packaging liable for the tax?

Yes. Our food safe pots, buckets and pharmaceutical pots are sold as packaging to contain products manufactured by our customers.

As the importer of the packaging, we account for PPT so you don’t have to worry about it for products you have purchased from us. As from 1st April 2022, invoices show that PPT has been accounted for. The price of the PPT is amortised into the price of the product, as it is another component to make up the final selling price.

If a product has more than 30% recycled plastic, it is then PPT exempt. This will be stated next to the items it refers to.

VAT is chargeable on PPT, so it is added at the end of the invoice as normal.

Does every company have to pay PPT?

If a company imports or produces less than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging per year they are exempt from PPT.

Are any products exempt from the PPT?

Plastic packaging with more than 30% recycled plastic material are exempt from the tax. The government are introducing the tax so that more plastic will be reused or recycled reducing waste and pollution. The added benefit of doing so is the packaging will be less expensive than the non recycled alternatives.

Food safety prevents recycled plastic being used due to the chance of contamination from the previous contents of the plastic. It could have been a paint bucket or a pot for peanuts. The risk is currently too high to use recycled plastic in the food industry.

It can however be used in the non food industry.

PCR plastic is an excellent choice for non food. It is as robust as virgin plastic but exempt from PPT. Most of the premium and standard buckets wesell can be produced in PCR. Please contact us for more information.