Audit Court: Challenges Surrounding the New EU Plastic Tax
According to the EU Court of Auditors, the tax on non-recycled plastic packaging introduced in 2021 isn't effectively being supervised. This lack of oversight could pave the way for ecological wrongdoings, as hinted in a recent report from the institution.
The report suggests that if waste meant for recycling doesn't comply with the Waste Framework Directive and instead gets smuggled or discarded unlawfully, it constitutes an environmental crime. There's minimal confirmation that the waste claimed to be received by recycling companies is indeed being processed.
Additionally, it's been mentioned that various methods are utilized by individual EU nations to determine waste quantities. Each EU country is required to pay a fee of 80 cents per kilogram of non-recycled plastic. However, some EU member states have also significantly understated their waste reports: The anticipated total quantity of non-recycled packaging waste for 2021 was 1.4 billion kilograms less than what was later reported.
Until these problems are tackled, EU countries are expected to keep employing disparate definitions and techniques for data collection, as per the auditors. The new revenue sources introduced in 2021 aim, in part, to encourage a decrease in single-use plastics and an increase in the recycling rate.
The EU Court of Auditors emphasized the need for improved calculations in determining the quantity of non-recycled plastic waste, as some EU member states have understated their reports. Effective supervision of calculations is crucial to ensure the accurate collection of the tax on non-recycled plastic packaging.
