The Plastic Packaging Tax
Starting April 1st, 2022, the United Kingdom will enforce a tax on plastic packaging containing less than 30% of recycled plastic. This tax impacts you if you manufacture or import 10 or more tons of plastic packaging within 12 months. The tax is €240 (£200) per ton. For more information about the Plastics Packaging Tax click here.
For the Plastics Packaging Tax, all plastic is made from virgin material unless there is proof that it contains recycled material.
Answering to market demands
To answer to market demands and meet our circular goals, ANL Packaging is already reusing its industrial waste (PIW) as we have 11 extruders in-house.
We have been using post-consumer RPET (PCW) since 2019. Over the years, we increased our usage of RPET. Currently, the majority of our products containing PET, have standard 30% post-consumer waste (PCW). A higher percentage of PCW is available upon request.
Guaranteeing food safety
Guaranteeing food safety is our priority. That is why ANL Packaging takes multiple extra provisions guaranteeing our RPET is food safe:
- We only buy ground, washed, and dried PCW Flakes (during washing, water-soluble materials are removed, together with metal and wood). We only buy PCW from European sources (PET in Europe is nearly 100% from food-safe materials)
- ANL requests compliance to the REACH requirements (ensures all other chemicals get removed).
- All of our PCW gets treated in our SSP installation before use in our packaging. This process does not only improve the physical properties but makes sure the output gets approved for direct food contact. We are EFSA approved for this process.
- We use PCW in the B-layer, behind an A-layer of virgin PET, which acts as a functional barrier.
- ANL Packaging is BRCGS certified. All of our packaging are compliant with all the regulations in force.
- The color stability of RPET is below that of virgin PET. To measure this instability, we closely monitor the color using LAB specifications to ensure it stays within proper ranges.
What about PP?
For PP it is a different story. As mentioned before, we have been using our industrial waste for a long time. The web leftover after thermoforming is regranulated and is used to extrude new film for our thermoforming machines.
Foodgrade PCW for PP is at this moment not available in large quantities. The mechanical recycled PP is not food grade. It gets used in construction and automotive applications or non-food packaging mostly.
At this moment, the only way to get food-grade PP from post-consumer waste is by chemical recycling. That causes limited availability at very high prices as a result. Moreover, not all European countries consider chemical recycling as recycling.
Conclusion
Our goal is to manufacture future-proof packaging to ensure a long-term relationship with our customers and guide them to their bespoke plastic packaging.
Anticipating market moves and responding to changing laws and regulations throughout Europe and beyond challenge us. It forces us to be adaptable. But we are confident we are on the correct path toward our circular vision.