Plastic Packaging Tax now £228.82 a tonne — are you caught?

 

From 1 April 2026 the Plastic Packaging Tax rate rises to £228.82 per tonne, up from £223.69 in 2025/26 — figures I have just rechecked on GOV.UK. The tax applies to plastic packaging manufactured in or imported into the UK that contains less than 30% recycled plastic, and it is charged on the full weight of the component.

 

The trap many businesses miss is registration: you must register if you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of finished plastic packaging components in the previous 12 months, or expect to reach that threshold in the next 30 days — even if you expect no tax to be due because your packaging meets the 30% recycled content. Keep records either way, as HMRC can ask for evidence of how you arrived at your position.

 

Looking ahead, from April 2027 new rules will allow a mass-balance approach for chemically recycled plastic, while pre-consumer plastic will no longer count as recycled. If packaging features in your business at all, now is a good time to weigh what you use, check your supplier declarations and confirm whether you have crossed — or are about to cross — the 10-tonne threshold.