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<p>Reducing the use of single use plastic packaging produced in the UK is a key ambition
of this Government. In December 2018, the UK Government published its Resources and
Waste Strategy. This sets out how we will achieve a circular economy for plastic and
achieve our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Our goal is
to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste (including plastic) - by following
the principles of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. To help us achieve
this goal, in October 2023, Defra banned the supply of single-use plastic plates,
bowls, and trays to the end-user and banned the supply of single-use plastic cutlery
and expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including
cups.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have also committed
to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. This will make producers
of packaging, responsible for the costs of collecting and managing packaging when
it becomes waste. This will encourage businesses to think carefully about how much
packaging they use, to design and use packaging that is easily recyclable, and to
use reusable packaging. In using more easily recyclable and reuseable packaging, producers
will pay less.</p><p> </p><p>To tackle the use of virgin plastics, the Government
brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022, a tax of over £200 per tonne on
plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain
at least 30% recycled plastic. We have since increased the tax to £217.85 per tonne
and will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly.</p>
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