New tax on plastic... but no sign of latte levy

A NEW plastic tax will be brought in to encourage recycling, the Chancellor announced – but there will be no ‘latte levy’ to tackle disposable plastic cups.

Philip Hammond said he would not impose a charge on the non-recyclable coffee cups which end up in our oceans, despite widespread public support for the move.

The news sparked anger from MPs and environmental campaigners, who accused him of breaking his promise to crack down on single-use plastics.

Mr Hammond pledged to introduce a tax on companies that manufacture or import so-called ‘virgin’ plastic with less than 30 per cent recycled content from April 2022. He said this would encourage food and drink companies to reduce their dependence on plastics which are difficult or impossible to recycle, such as black food trays and plastic straws.

Ministers have made tackling plastic pollution a priority following a Mail campaign which resulted in a charge for plastic bags and cut usage by nearly 90 per cent.

But the Treasury refused to introduce a similar approach for disposable plastic vessels, which includes coffee and water cups. Around 2.5 billion single-use coffee cups are used in Britain each year. Most end up in landfill, as the plastic-coated paper cups cannot be recycled.

In January, MPs on the environmental audit committee called for 25p to be charged on top of the price of all hot drinks bought in single-use cups.

Yesterday Labour MP Mary Creagh, chair of the committee, said: ‘It is a year since the Chancellor stood at the despatch box and promised to introduce a single-use plastics tax to turn back the tide of plastic polluting our environment.

‘After the largest ever response to any Treasury consultation he has failed to keep his promise to the British people.

‘There was nothing green about this budget. No latte levy, no tax on bad plastics for another four years. He is kicking the plastic bottle down the road.’

She pointed out that there had been more than 160,000 responses to the Treasury consultation on single-use plastics.

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said: ‘It is bitterly disappointing that the Chancellor has abandoned the Government’s commitment to introduce a levy on plastic cups.

‘It proves the Tories are full of hot air and no credible action. It also proves what I have said all along, that headlines are more important to them than the environment.’

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas tweeted: ‘This is the most nature-depleted Budget in decades. His biggest announcement on the environment was abandoning the latte levy, and with it the pretence of caring about our natural world.’

Julian Kirby of Friends of the Earth said: ‘It’s astonishing that the Chancellor has gone cold on a latte levy, just when we needed him to turn up the heat on plastic polluters. A tax on virgin plastic packaging would be a welcome step, but if we’re going to stem the huge tide of plastic waste pouring into UK waterways every year, far bolder action is needed.’ Hugo Tagholm, of Surfers Against Sewage, said: ‘This is only a start and campaigners must keep up the pressure for more ambitious legislation if we are to tackle the true scale of plastic pollution in our oceans.

‘Voluntary industry measures will never be enough. We need strong legislation to drive change on plastic pollution.’

But Rupert Haworth, marketing director at Recycling Techlooked nologies, said the move would encourage recycling. He added: ‘This should stimulate new investment in plastic recycling innovation and capacity here in the UK and provide recycled plastic feedstock to the industry.’

Announcing the pledges yesterday, Mr Hammond said he wanted Britain to be a ‘world leader’ on the issue, adding that plastic is ‘deadly to our wildlife and oceans’. He said he had carefully at the case for introducing a levy on the production of disposable plastic cups.

But, he told the Commons: ‘I have concluded that a tax in isolation would not at this point deliver a decisive shift from disposable to reusable cups across all beverage types.’

He pledged to monitor coffee chains, a number of which have introduced their own discounts on reusable plastic cups, and said he would return to the issue if ‘sufficient progress’ is not made.

The packaging producer responsibility scheme will also be reviewed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, he said.

Announcing the tax on packaging containing less than 30 per cent recycled plastic, he said it would ‘transform the economics of sustainable packaging’.

The Treasury added later: ‘The tax will provide a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled material in the production of packaging which in turn will create greater demand for this material.’

‘He’s kicking bottle down the road’

THE percentage of seabirds with plastic in their stomach has increased to 90 per cent from 5 per cent in 1960, a shocking report reveals.

Plastic pollution is one of the worst ways man is adversely affecting the environment.

Global wildlife populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as humans overuse natural resources, driving climate change and pollution.

Only a quarter of the world’s land area is free from the impacts of human activity and by 2050 that will have fallen to just a tenth, the Living Planet Report 2018 says.

From hedgehogs and puffins to elephants, rhinos, polar bears and orangutans, wildlife is declining – driven by habitat loss, poaching, pollution and higher temperatures, according to the report by the Zoological Society of London and the WWF.

Populations of more than 4,000 species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians have declined by an average of 60 per cent between 1970 and 2014.

Among the alarming findings was work from the Commonwealth and Scientific Research Organisation which showed that of 186 species of seabirds 90 per cent have plastic in their stomachs, a figure projected to rise to 99 per cent by 2050.

The Daily Mail has led the fight to cut the number of plastic bags dished out by supermarkets, as well as championing a deposit scheme to curb plastic bottle dumping.

Species which live in fresh water habitats, such as frogs and river fish, have seen global population falls of 83 per cent. Tropical areas have experienced the worst declines, with an 89 per cent fall in populations monitored in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1970.

Marco Lambertini, director general of the WWF, said: ‘Our planet is at a crossroads and we have the opportunity to decide the path ahead. The astonishing decline in wildlife populations is a grim reminder and perhaps the ultimate indicator of the pressure we exert on the planet.’

Current action to protect nature fails to match the scale of the threat facing the planet, the conservationists claim. ‘Exploding’ levels of human consumption are driving the impacts on nature, with overexploitation of natural resources, deforestation to grow crops such as soy and palm oil, and the use of pesticides in agriculture.

Climate change and plastic pollution are also growing threats.

But wildlife is not just a ‘nice to have’ for humans, the report warns, because human food, health and medicines also rely on natural resources. All human economic activity depends on nature, the report said. Globally, natural resources are estimated to provide services – for example, pollination of plants – worth 125trillion US dollars (£97trillion) a year.

With the world set to review progress on sustainable development and conserving biodiversity under UN agreements by 2020, there is a chance for action in the next two years, WWF argues.

A new global deal should be secured, backed by commitments from governments and businesses.

WWF chief executive Tanya Steele said: ‘We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it.

TV presenter and WWF-UK ambassador Ben Fogle said: ‘I don’t want my children growing up to learn about tigers, rhinos and even hedgehogs through history books and museums. I want them to see our world’s diverse and wonderful wildlife with their own eyes.

‘But our inaction is wiping out species. It terrifies me that, unless we make committed and immediate change to the way we live, there will be no other option for them.’ c.fernandez@dailymail.co.uk