The Plastic Packaging Tax applies to plastic packaging manufactured in or imported into the UK that contains less than 30 percent recycled plastic. Legislated in Part 2 of the Finance Act 2021 and brought into operation by the Plastic Packaging Tax (General) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/117), it took effect on 1 April 2022, and businesses handling 10 tonnes or more a year must register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Helen Whately, Exchequer Secretary, confirmed the 1 April 2022 commencement in the Finance (No. 2) Bill committee on 5 January 2022.
The rate was £223.69 per tonne from 1 April 2025 and £228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026. A producer using 10,000 tonnes a year of packaging with less than 30 percent recycled plastic would pay about £2.3 million a year in this tax. That is before plastic resin costs and packaging waste fees.
Status as at September 2026: in force; the government confirmed in November 2025 that it will use from 1 April 2027 an accounting method called mass balance to count recycled content made by chemical recycling, where recycled and new plastic are mixed during production. Dates verified against SI 2022/117 (legislation.gov.uk) and HMRC's Plastic Packaging Tax guidance on 23 September 2026.