New Government policy will render glass manufacturers uncompetitive against less recyclable products - Sarah Champion
Yorkshire is home to dynamic, world-leading businesses. Small businesses are the very backbone of our local – and national – economy. But, when I look around my own Rotherham constituency, I am reminded that it has been a turbulent few years for many of these businesses, particularly in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
They continue to face significant headwinds and need our support. Yet too often, decisions taken in Westminster serve only to hold them back.
Take new measures around sustainability as an example. We all agree that recycling is a good thing, but government plans to charge businesses to encourage recycling in fact penalise one of our most recyclable materials.
Glass is 100 per cent recyclable, with no loss of quality. The glass sector has always supported the principle of the reforms being made to help us recycle more, but plans for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) risk forcing businesses to switch to more environmentally damaging products like plastic. This simply isn’t right.
Rotherham has been producing glass for three centuries. But, as things stand, the new policy will render glass manufacturers uncompetitive against less recyclable products, as well as cheaper imports that undercut the environmental standards that the UK is rightly proud of.
It isn’t only the producers of glass that will be hit hard. It will add costs to businesses like pubs and distilleries, sectors already struggling with other cost pressures. The UK Spirits Alliance and others have been calling for changes to the policy for months now; we simply cannot ignore what these organisations are saying.
Yorkshire is home to brilliant, independent distilleries. From Hooting Owl Distillery to Yorkshire Dales Distillery and Mason’s of Yorkshire, we lead the way. The industry contributes a huge £13bn to the UK economy and has such huge potential for growth. The Government has done a fantastic job in negotiating a trade deal with India that will see tariffs on whiskies and gin dramatically reduced.
Sadly though, our Yorkshire distilleries won’t be able to take advantage of it without improvements here at home. Consecutive duty hikes and discrimination against glass make it impossible to think about exporting; they are simply trying to survive at the moment.
The same can be said of pubs. Most bottles sold in hospitality settings will be subject to EPR fees unfairly. Pubs already pay for their waste to be removed through commercial contracts. EPR will see them charged twice for the same thing. With 70 per cent of the cost of a bottle of gin already going to the Exchequer, the impact to the consumer will be substantial. People across the country are facing increased living costs and this will only add to that burden.
Bluntly, EPR is a tax. It has little prospect of improving recycling rates, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ own analysis suggesting that the scheme will not have any meaningful impact on how much we recycle. It is time to put an end to this madness, look again at the scheme and support the very businesses that we are looking to to deliver economic growth.
In another three centuries, I want Rotherham to still be producing glass. For that to be a reality, the Government needs to make changes to this deeply flawed policy. I hope that they will listen and safeguard the future of glass packaging manufacturers and the businesses – like pubs, distillers and the wider hospitality sector – that need them.
Sarah Champion is the Labour MP for Rotherham.