Penalties on Plastic – How New Regulations May Affect Your Business

In recent years, there has been an emphasis on taking better care of your body with a view to benefit general health and increase life expectancy. Diet is a main factor. Take a look at our  Health Benefits of a Kosher Diet for more information on this.

However, in 2018,  EU regulations are seeing an increase in environmental awareness. New regulations set to be rolled out across the UK will attempt to decrease the use of unsustainable, single-use plastics in packaging, with financial penalties expected if the new laws are not adhered to.

Current Regulations

Currently a producer of any type of packaging, from raw material manufacturing to packing or filling on behalf of a third party, will be familiar with the framework of the existing producer responsibility regulations.

The Environment Agency Producer Responsibility Regulations, Waste and Recycling and Waste guide notes, obligate packaging producers to:

• Be mindful of the amount of packaging required for a product
• Reduce how much non-recyclable waste is used in the packaging process
• Increase the recycling of any waste which can be recycled, and ensure that this process is considered throughout the business

Changes Expected

The campaign, which will hold no legal force, aims to eradicate any single-use plastic items as a way of reducing non-degradable waste, thus helping to improve the natural environment as more waste is recycled, rather than left in landfills, or disposed of at sea.

Predicted changes include a mass commercial rethink of existing packaging, which in turn will affect both the production industry, as well as the marketing industry.

Supermarkets are expected to introduce ‘plastic free aisles’ in a bid to encourage suppliers to rethink the current packaging that they are using.

Government agencies are expected to encourage businesses to provide proof that the minimum recycling quota is being fulfilled and to provide proof that the maximum number of recyclable materials are also being re-used or filtered to the correct sites for re-processing.

How Will This Affect My Business?

Currently, a Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs Waste Statistic report states that as much as 27.7 million tonnes of waste is produced from the commercial and industrial sector, with as little as only about 6% of plastics being recycled within the EU. The government wants this to change.

Businesses will be expected to rethink current designs and attempt to remove the use of plastic entirely.

Single-use plastics will be restricted, with the European commision encouraging member states to deploy taxes on businesses which ignore the requirements.

Businesses may need to redesign products entirely or consider the supplier’s production procedures in ways to implement these requirements.

In 2017 Germany’s Bundesrat (upper house of Parliament) legislated to boost recycling of packaging waste. It is to include within the framework for collecting fees the obligation to introduce incentives to increase the use of recycled or bio-based materials.

Although these new measures may change the final look of your products, one thing that will remain the same is the Kosher certification.

By ensuring that your business is Kosher certified, you are ensuring that your brand is trusted and reliable, and will stand out from other products on the newly designed ‘plastic free aisles’.

Get Kosher certified today – Contact us on +44 (0) 20 8343 6255, or email us at info@klbdkosher.org and we will be happy to help you further.

For more information on plastic pollution and potential solutions click here