UK Labour Party: Producers Now Responsible for Their Products for Life

The UK Labour Party has a new plan for taxation and climate. It is the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act. In Europe, it’s a thing.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) aims for producers to pay the full net costs of managing and recycling the packaging waste arising from products they place on the market. They are responsible for the product they sell for the entire life of every product.

The Guidelines stipulate mandatory targets on EPR, recycling of plastic packaging waste, reuse of rigid plastic packaging, and use of recycled plastic content. The guidelines provide for moving towards sustainable plastic packaging and reducing the plastic footprint of plastic packaging.

Destroying the Glass Industry

GB News reports A leading industry body has accused Labour of shattering the UK glass sector with a controversial new packaging tax.

British Glass is warning that festive favorites like mulled wine, pickled onions, cranberry sauce, wine, and bottled beer are expected to rocket in price next year.

The way the law is written, bottled products like bottled beer will cost more.

“So this could push consumers away from glass into less recyclable materials, all based on weight. We believe that EPR should be really driving recyclability.

“So encouraging those materials that are recyclable not encourages to go to the lowest cost option [of less recyclable plastic and metals].

The There Is the Grocery Tax

“Labour is also adding a grocery tax, a favorite of Kamala Harris’s.

The Telegraph reports that a new “grocery tax” aimed at achieving net-zero targets is set to cost British households up to £1.4 billion annually. According to Government calculations, the green tax will add as much as £56 to annual household shopping bills.

The scheme, which charges retailers and manufacturers based on their packaging materials usage, has been quietly passed into legislation as part of the UK’s waste reduction and net-zero strategy. Critics warn that the measure will increase food costs for families while creating additional business bureaucracy.

This could have been the United States had Kamala won.