Poland pays PLN 1.7 billion in plastic tax annually. A deposit system could reduce that amount by 400 million zlotys
Poland pays PLN 1.7 billion in plastic tax annually. This amount is directly dependent on the amount of unrecycled plastic waste in a given year, and amounts to €0.80 per kilogram of plastic waste. We reuse only about 1/3 of plastic waste. That's why the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs (FPP) is calling for the unblocking of the government draft introducing the deposit system and urgently directing it to the Sejm. This could save up to PLN 400 million a year.
According to FPE experts, the deposit system means up to PLN 400 million less tax on plastic for Poland, a higher level of recovery of raw materials and an easier way to achieve EU goals in this area. This is a win-win situation for Poland - both for businesses and citizens.
In addition to the cost aspect, it is worth remembering two additional issues. The first is raw material security - the more raw materials we can reuse, the lower our dependence on imports. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are already reporting problems with the availability of recyclate that they could use in their product packaging. Second, the deposit system enjoys wide public acceptance. According to an opinion poll conducted by the Institute for Market and Social Research on behalf of the Center for Legislative Analyses and Economic Policy in August 2022, more than 90 percent of Polish women and men support the operation of the deposit system.
- A deposit system is the most effective way to achieve a high - up to 90 percent. - collection rate for packaging and packaging waste. The Ministry of Climate and Environment, together with a wide range of entities representing various sectors of the market, has worked out compromise legislative solutions, which - if adopted by the Council of Ministers and directed to the Parliament, and then enacted - would lead to the entry into force of the deposit system from January 1, 2025. This is enough time to create and implement a system that would ensure a high level of recovery of, among other things, plastic packaging, commonly known as plastic packaging. Unfortunately, the government's project is constantly facing blockages inside the Council of Ministers, and there is a growing risk that it will not be passed in the current term of the Sejm - says Piotr Wolejko, a socio-economic expert at the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs (pictured).
According to him, this would mean squandering several years of work, agreements and consultations, delaying the implementation of solutions to guarantee high levels of packaging collection, as well as the need for Poland to bear the high cost of the so-called EU plastic tax. Its purpose is to encourage higher levels of plastic waste processing. This goal can be most effectively achieved by just introducing a deposit system.
- It is completely incomprehensible to hold up work on a good compromise project and guarantee the maintenance of a high level of plastic tax for Poland for the coming years. Without a bail system, which would not come into effect until January 1, 2025 anyway, there is no chance of significantly reducing the fee incurred each year. However, if it were possible to pass the law and introduce the deposit system in accordance with the still current plans, the amount of plastic tax for 2025 would be lower for Poland - adds Piotr Wolejko of FPE.
Source: he Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs