Unveiling the effects of plastic packaging taxes: A comprehensive analysis of circular practices among food packaging producers in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal

De Boe, Grégory [UCL] Swaen, Valérie [UCL] Lamensch, Marie [UCL]

Plastic's affordability and versatility have driven its extensive use, but its linear production-consumption model presents severe environmental challenges. As plastic packaging demand is expected to surge, the EU has implemented policies like the Single-Use Plastics Directive and Plastic Levy to move towards a circular economy. This prompted some European nations, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, to introduce plastic packaging taxes to address circularity issues. However, how food packaging producers and importers perceive these taxes as catalysts for circular practices remains underexplored. This study explores the perceived influence of plastic packaging taxes on circularity in food packaging production across these three countries. Through interviews with stakeholders – including plastic converters, recyclers, and food and beverage brands – the research identifies key circular practices: eco-design (e.g., material selection, recyclability, lightweighting), increased recycling, carbon and water footprint reduction, waste-to-energy recovery, and, to a lesser extent, reusable packaging solutions. The findings highlight critical drivers and obstacles shaping these practices, including collaboration, innovation, culture, operational challenges, market conditions, regulatory frameworks, and material chemical properties. Policies like the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation are seen as strong drivers due to mandates for recycled content and scalable recyclable packaging by 2030. Conversely, plastic packaging taxes face challenges such as fraud, administrative burdens, and misalignment with broader contextual elements like the high cost of recycled materials and inadequate waste collection infrastructure. These shortcomings limit the taxes' perceived outcomes and generate industry resistance. This research underscores the multifaceted nature of fostering circularity in food packaging and provides practical insights for designing tax policies for sustainability. By exploring how taxes interact with broader industry dynamics, the study enriches environmental policy discussions and offers actionable recommendations to reduce non-recycled plastic waste among food packaging stakeholders.