Sigrid Eder-Ince and Reinhard Lechner, Starlinger & Co. GmbH, Austria, explain why FIBCs made from PET can help boost the circular economy as countries introduce more stringent legislation on plastic.
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he UK’s proposed Plastic Packaging Tax could set an example for governments worldwide to follow in order to meet sustainability goals and promote recycled content in plastic packaging. In the area of heavy-duty bulk packaging, flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs) made of PET tape fabric provide an economically viable solution to comply with such legislation. Parallel to the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive and the EU Plastic Packaging Levy, the UK plans to tackle plastic waste and promote the recycling of it by taxing plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled content.1 The HM Revenue & Customs – the UK’s tax, payments, and customs authority – has drafted a legislation defining chargeable types of plastic packaging, thresholds of recycled content, tax rates, and
liability, which will take effect from 1 April 2022. The aim of the tax is to provide a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled material in plastic packaging, which will create greater demand for this material and in turn stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste, diverting it away from landfill or incineration. Once in force, this tax will also affect FIBC producers who export their bags to the UK. Importers will have to pay a tax of £200/t in addition to the customs duty if the FIBCs do not contain the defined amount of recycled content, which will make them uncompetitive.2 If other countries follow, exports to these countries will also be affected. FIBCs are generally made of polypropylene (PP), and although PP can be recycled, it degrades in the process. Low
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