Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has been described as a ‘strong first step’ in terms of using taxes to reduce plastic waste, but waste experts have called for measures to encourage greater recycling of the material.
The consultation documentation states that government will seek to explore how changes to the tax system or charges could be used to reduce the amount of single-use plastics which end up as waste. The overall reaction to the launch of the consultation has been positive, some have questioned how a potential ‘tax on plastics’ could work in practice.