'Crazy' new tax could lead to huge job losses in glassmaking

GMB stewards, who are due to meet Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley MP Yvette Cooper, say the tax unfairly penalises glass over plastic and aluminium.

Sheffield-based industry body British Glass says one million 750ml bottles of wine will cost £100,000 in fees – against zero for plastic and cans, while for one million 380ml jars of jam, it will cost £46,000 for glass against £15,000 in plastic.

Yorkshire has 44 per cent of UK direct glass production jobs at eight sites, employing 2,600 people and thousands more in the supply chain.

In the Home Secretary’s Knottingley constituency, there are three factories which make glass for packaging – Verallia, Stoelzle Flaconnage and Ardagh. Beatson Clark in Rotherham also makes glass packaging.

The Government’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, introduced in April, is set to reshape how businesses manage packaging waste, shifting full financial responsibility for the collection, recycling, and disposal of packaging away from taxpayers onto producers.

But critics says calculating fees based on the weight of materials penalises heavier but “infinitely recyclable” glass items and encourages brands to use more plastic or tin.

Craig Tucker, who works for Stoelzle Flaconnage, said: “It is absolutely crazy – it makes no sense. The price of 12 beer bottles is £12 to £15, and we’re going to be talking closer to £20.

"Will people be willing to pay £20 for a pack of 12 lagers? Instead of using glass, they will look at plastic or cans. They are going to look to pay as little as they can.

"If you didn’t calculate it based on weight, but maybe in volume, you’d probably have an even playing field. Because you are basing it on weight, glass will be heavier regardless of size. We’re on the back foot to start with.

"We’ll see work drop off and then we are looking at redundancies. Heaven forbid it gets that bad that you look at shutting the factory.”

British Glass technical director Dr Nick Kirk said the tax was based on “weight not recyclability”. He said: “We want a fair system that isn’t discriminatory.

"It is vitally important that we retain glassmaking in the UK, otherwise we will start to import empty glass packaging which makes no economic or environmental sense.”

In the UK glass has been recycled in bottle banks since 1977 when it was introduced in Barnsley. Dr Kirk said: "Without a doubt some of the glass is still in the system being recycled.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy, with extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging being a vital first step.

“Throughout development of the EPR scheme we have engagement extensively with the glass sector and for recyclable materials like glass, we are clear there will be fee discounts.

“We will shortly be setting out the confirmed base fees, which will generate more than £1bn annually to improve recycling collections, benefitting every household across the country.”