Toni PomarVeolia UK & Ireland CEO, Gavin Graveson, comments on the Autumn budget.
We welcome the Budget that signals growth, and the green economy remains firmly on the Government’s agenda.
For the recycling and waste sector, the Government’s decarbonisation programme pledges important funding for CCUS and green hydrogen but misses the mark on incentivising the fastest way to decarbonise waste; removing plastics from the waste stream.
We were disappointed that the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) was only increased in line with CPI and that the Treasury did not set more ambitious targets to increase recycled content. The PPT must be increased in line with the rises seen across the landfill tax rate and in preparation for the Emissions Trading Scheme to move more plastics from a waste to a resource.
Increasing the Plastic Packaging Tax to £500 per tonne and 50% recycled content over the next few years will help stimulate a stagnated plastic recycling market, open up new investment and jobs and lower emissions from waste treatment significantly.
A mass balance approach will support emerging technology across the chemical recycling sector and make progress for the lower grade plastics to be recycled in a circular economy, but further action is required to ensure there is an end market for the recycled content.
Tackling hidden economies is also a welcome step. We urge Defra to swiftly reform waste carrier licences and take strong action against waste crime, which blights our industry and the environment.
The chancellor has addressed a number of policy areas that are vital for the UK’s transition to a greener economy, but further progress could and should be made in the coming months to accelerate this transition.
Author
