Caroline McGilliard, Macfarlane Packaging: The Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) is being introduced at the start of April 2022. This means that the countdown is on for businesses to reduce the amount of virgin plastic currently used in their supply chains.
The taxation is being applied in a bid to increase the demand for recycled plastic, which in turn will drive an increase in the recycling of plastic material. It is also intended to nurture growth and development in the UK recycling infrastructure and reduce the use of fossil fuels.
The Plastic Packaging Tax will encourage us all to make more sustainable choices.
The tax is aimed at manufacturers and importers of packaging where virgin plastic material makes up 71% or more of the product. If that packaging doesn’t contain at least 30% recycled content, then the new tax will be applied at £200 per tonne.
Now is a great time to review your packaging to find out exactly what plastic packaging you are using, understand why you’re using it and explore if there is an opportunity to switch to a more sustainable alternative. Macfarlane Packaging is working hard with customers to help them make the right choice for their packing operations. Using our new Packaging Optimiser tool, we can assess how switching to a high recycled content plastic or paper alternative packaging material can impact on a business’s storage, productivity and logistics operation, as well as how it can remove CO2 from their supply chain.
There several opportunities open to businesses who use plastic packaging.
They can consider switching to plastic packaging that contains a high percentage of recycled content. In preparation for this tax, Macfarlane Packaging has introduced a range of 30% recycled content packaging products. These include air bags, bubble wrap, bags, mailing bags, strapping, stretch wrap and custom packaging, all of which enable businesses to remove virgin plastics from their supply chain.
For many businesses, eliminating plastic packaging altogether is a priority. Plastic packaging can be replaced with non-plastic alternatives that provide equivalent (or improved) protection. There’s a wide range of plastic-free alternatives available for every packaging application.
If a business uses plastic packing tape, swapping this with water activated paper tape can literally remove miles of plastic instantly. The paper tape forms a strong bond to cardboard so less tape is required to provide a secure seal. This tape, along with a digital dispenser, which cuts the tape to pre-set lengths, can dramatically reduce packing time and increase throughput in a packing operation.
We know that some packaging, such as stretch wrap, is more challenging to remove from the supply chain as it provides unparalleled load containment. Some films, but not all, are available with 30% recycled content but it is dependent on material grade and application.
One solution is stretch wrap analysis. This typically reduces the amount of material required by a third – which can run into tens of tonnes when shipping high numbers of pallets. Professional analysis is vital to ensuring load containment is comparable – or improved – before reducing the amount of material required.
At Macfarlane Packaging we offer a free stretch film review. It takes just 30 minutes without impacting production time. It could remove tonnes of plastic from a business’s operation, reduce its impact on the environment and reduce cost.
For more information about the Plastic Packaging tax and how Macfarlane Packaging can help, visit www.macfarlanepackaging.com/plastictax
Comments are closed.