The Government has indicated a likely delay of the second round of consultations for Extended Producer Responsibility, Deposit Return Scheme and Consistency in Collections. These consultations are now expected in early 2021.
The Resources and Waste Strategy, launched in December 2018, proposed four main areas of reform: Extended Producer Responsibility, Deposit Return Scheme, Consistency in Collections and Plastic Packaging Tax. Subsequent consultations were launched in 2019 with the Government’s response following soon after and further consultations anticipated for 2020.
As a result of unforeseen circumstances such as Covid-19, along with Brexit and the General Election, three of the four expected consultations have been delayed with no indication of how this might impact implementation of the policies and the wider Resources and Waste Strategy goals.
Nevertheless, 2020 has seen developments with the Plastic Packaging Tax, with a second consultation published alongside confirmation the tax will be implemented in April 2022. The consultation was launched in March with a closing date in May, however the consultation period has since been extended to 20th August 2020. You can find out more about the tax here and respond to the consultation here.
With the current climate and impacts of Covid-19 this delay may be a welcome relief for many businesses allowing time to focus on recovery.
We are eager to collaborate with our members before the consultations are released to both advise and share ideas, with aims to ensure UK businesses are well informed and prepared for not only the consultations, but the change on the horizon.
Please do get in touch with any questions and/or thoughts you may have on this.
