Page 56 - Plastics News September 2026
P. 56
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
portion’ of their revenue from plastic bottles
and aluminium cans. If these systems end up in
a funding deficit, taxpayers may be forced to
cover the costs. Other concerns surround the lo-
gistical and spatial challenges of setting up auto-
mated collection points whether inside a super-
market or across urban and rural communities.
Some argue that improving existing yellow bin
and kerbside recycling systems would achieve
better results.
The political resistance has largely come from lo-
cal authorities and waste operators, who argue
that municipalities have already invested heavily
in collection and sorting infrastructure and could
basis, particularly in areas where plastic bottle
collection rates remain low. However, local mu- lose valuable PET streams and revenues if bot-
nicipalities fear that introducing deposit return tles move into a separate deposit system.”
infrastructure could impact existing municipal
recycling systems, which derive a ‘significant
UK Sets Mass Balance Rules For Plastic Packaging Tax
approach if you want to account for chemically
recycled plastic in your Plastic Packaging Tax re-
turn. The proposed guideline says Using a mass
balance approach is optional, but if you do not
use it all your chemically recycled plastic will be
treated as non-recycled (virgin) plastic for the
purposes of Plastic Packaging Tax. A mass bal-
ance approach allows the proportion of chemi-
cally recycled plastic in a mixture of recycled and
virgin plastic to be attributed to the plastic com-
ponents of your packaging (output). Without a
mass balance approach, it is impossible to tell
K is moving forward with rules that will the difference between virgin plastic and chemi-
recognize mass balance accounting for cally recycled sources in the output. When using
Uchemically recycled plastics under its a mass balance approach for Plastic Packaging
Plastic Packaging Tax. Tax, any chemically recycled plastic attributed
The new guidance confirms that businesses will using a mass balance approach must be covered
have to use a fuel-exempt mass balance alloca- by a third-party certification scheme that meets
tion method, following the lead from the EU’s the minimum requirements for Plastic Packaging
mass balance rules published earlier this year. Tax.
From 1 April 2027, one must use a mass balance
60 PLASTICS NEWS September 2026
