The introduction of Deposit Return Schemes, Extended Producer Responsibility and Plastic Packaging Tax have been adopted to tackle current environmental issues in the UK. The reforms encourage a move to more sustainable packaging and increased traceability.
Polytag technology has been developed to help producers, brands, recyclers, local authorities and governments describe, tag and trace packaging throughout the circular economy, and use this information for compliance with legislation.
Deposit Return Schemes Digitally-enabled deposit return schemes are more convenient for consumers, preferred by retailers, lower cost and are less carbon-intensive, as well as being able to leverage existing local authority collection methods.
Extended Producer Responsibility Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) puts the onus on manufacturers and producers to consider the whole lifecycle of a product. The full onus of paying for packaging recycling and the waste they produce will be on packaging manufacturers, brands and retailers.
Plastic Packaging Tax The Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) applies to packaging produced or imported into the UK that doesn’t contain at least 30% recycled plastic. The tax was introduced to provide an economic incentive for businesses to use an increased amount of recycled PET (rPET) in their packaging.
Digital Waste Tracking The introduction of Digital Waste Tracking aims to streamline processes for legitimate waste companies, improving traceability across the circular economy.