New product levy rates for glass packaging - sizable reductions from 2025.
Glass bottles collected under the deposit system will be subject to a lower product fee than expected. The new product fee rates are a result of a decree by the Minister of Climate and Environment, which took effect at the beginning of 2025.
Lower product fee for glass bottles covered by deposit scheme
On 1 January 2025, an amendment to the regulation of the Minister of Climate and Environment came into force, which significantly reduced the rates of the product fee for glass packaging collected under the deposit system. Under the new regulations, For each kilo of reusable glass bottles, introducers will pay:
- £0.01 (instead of £0.10) in 2025,
- £0.05 (instead of £1) in 2026,
- £0.25 (instead of £5) in 2027 and beyond.
Recall that the previous legislation provided for uniform rates for all types of packaging covered by the deposit system. So what is the reason for this change?
Reduction in product fee dictated by higher weight of glass packaging
The amendment to the Regulation was intended to making rates more realistic product levy. As highlighted in the explanatory memorandum of the draft new regulation, the weight of a glass bottle is many times that of a PET bottle or can of identical capacity. Based on the data cited by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the weights of the half-litre containers covered by the deposit system are respectively:
- PET bottle - 13 g,
- beverage can - 14 g,
- glass bottle - 315 g.
This means that for every 1 kg of packaging:
- 77 PET bottles,
- 71 cans,
- just 3 glass bottles.
In line with the principle that litter the number of packages, not their weight, the product levy rates for glass packaging have been significantly reduced.
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Environmental justification for a reduction in the product fee for glass packaging
The reduction of the product fee for glass packaging was dictated not only by economic issues, but also by environmental ones. The use of reusable packaging has a positive impact on the environment and brings us closer to making GOZ a reality. The use of returnable glass bottles reduces the scale of production of new bottles, thus reduces carbon emissions, electricity consumption and raw materials.
Maintaining the current uniform rates of the product fee for all of these types of packaging could cause introducers to move away from their use and replace 'expensive' reusable glass with much 'cheaper' single-use plastics. Abandoning reusable glass bottles, on the other hand, would be a a step backwards that would move us further away from the transition to a closed-loop economy.
See also:
- 9 month delay in bail system. What does this mean for the packaging industry?
- Sielaff bottle dispensers - the best machines for a bail system
Sources:
- Ordinance of the Minister of Climate and Environment of 24 December 2024 amending the Ordinance on the rates of product fees for individual types of packaging, https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20240001960/O/D20241960.pdf
- https://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12389300/katalog/13079739#13079739