The announcement comes in response to three Parliamentary Questions tabled by Wera Hobhouse MP (former Liberal Democrat spokesperson for energy and climate change) on chemical recycling. Hobhouse has been working with the British Plastics Federations (BPF) to better understand the government’s position on the policy area.
The PPT consultation sought views on the application of a mass balance approach to determine the amount of chemically recycled plastic in a plastic packaging component for tax purposes. It additionally asked for opinions on the controls and standards that should be adopted to ensure the integrity of the tax.
The consultation ran for 12 weeks from 18 July 2023 to 10 October 2023.
The government responses to Hobhouse’s questions also confirm that:
- The government believes that chemical recycling technologies have a role to play – together with mechanical recycling – in helping the UK transition towards a circular economy by supporting the reduction in virgin plastic stock used in production.
- The government believes that policies such as the UK’s PPT help support innovation, growth and jobs in the waste management and the recycling sectors, including within chemical recycling.
The BPF has said that it will continue to work with politicians and stakeholders on chemical recycling “to secure a positive outcome for the UK plastics industry”.
Now that the Select Committee chairs have been elected, the BPF has said that it plans to write to all relevant chairs to request meetings once parliament returns after Party Conference season on 7 October 2024.
The new chairs will take up their positions when the remaining members of the committees have been appointed by the House of Commons.
The federation will also be hosting an online seminar to discuss the topic on 17 October 2024.
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