Unions warn that the new scheme known as extended producer responsibility – and dubbed “glass tax” – will cost jobs and see the prices of beers and spirits rise across the UK and beyond
Campaigners today delivered a specially brewed beer bearing the Prime Minister’s name to Parliament in a demonstration against the so-called glass tax.
“Burnham’s Brew” was taken to the government HQ amid the concern that extended producer responsibility (EPR), a new scheme about packaging, will cost jobs and see the prices of beers and spirits rise across the UK and beyond.
The British Beer & Pub Association has warned the pub sector will probably face a hit of about £50million. Glass bottles sold in venues will be considered household waste, but pubs already pay to have waste commercially recycled.
Mr Burnham said that his No 1 priority was helping people with the cost of living crisis when he came into office – including those who could not afford a trip to the pub.
Craig Tucker, 40, the GMB union spokesman on glass, warned the new tax will lead to huge job losses. He works at Stoelzle Flaconnage glass factory in Knottingley and travelled from Yorkshire to Parliament to present the giant beer bottle.
He told the Mirror: “The law may be well intentioned but is going to have a huge impact on jobs in the glass industry in this country. It is measured by the weight of the glass and in certain products you can reduce the glass weight. But you cannot do that in a beer bottle.”
His dad, Eric, worked in the industry all his life but Craig said that his son Zak, 10, a keen rugby league fan, would not have a job to go to if the tax remains in place.
Craig warned that 4,750 British jobs at risk due to the implementation of the government’s so-called Bottle Tax. He added: “Our brewing industry is something to be proud of.
“It would be a disaster if it has to start importing bottles and laying off workers on both sides of the Pennines. We are urging the PM to look at this issue – perhaps while enjoying a cool pint of this IPA we’ve crafted for him.”
Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “Make no mistake, these unfair extra costs risk jobs. Brewers make just 3p profit on a 500ml bottle of beer, so extra levies like this hit the sector and workers hard.
“EPR urgently needs reviewing otherwise British beer, such as this delicious IPA, is at risk.”
Nick Kirk, executive director of British Glass, believes that the glass tax is putting at risk an industry that supports around 5,000 skilled jobs in glass manufacturing and more than a hundred thousand jobs across the supply chain.
He said: “Our glass manufacturing is something to be proud of. It would be a disaster if brands switch from glass or import empty beer bottles, which will reduce UK glass production, threatening skilled jobs and investment in communities on both sides of the Pennines.
“We are urging the PM to take a fresh look at this issue, perhaps while enjoying a cool bottle of the IPA we’ve crafted for him.”
EPR added about half a percentage point to overall food inflation, according to the Bank of England.
Britain’s biggest wine supplier, Vinarchy UK, was pushed into the red last year by a bruising £8m packaging tax bill.
The John Lewis Partnership, which owns its own department stores as well as Waitrose, was hit with a £29mi bill for the EPR policy.
Fever-Tree, the tonic and mixers brand, launched a legal battle with the Environment Agency over how the packaging tax is applied, arguing that 200ml bottles of its drinks sold in pubs should not be subject to the levy.
It is disputing a £2.8m hit to its business from the tax. Steve Perez, the founder of drinks company Global Brands, which makes the “alcopops” brands VK, Hooch and Reef, said EPR has hit his firm with an extra £2.5 million in costs.
It has now opted to shift his manufacturing out of Britain entirely.
It has begun making VK and Reef ready-to-drink cocktails in Tetra Pak at a facility in Germany, as a direct result of the associated cost pressures.
Encirc, the UK’s biggest producer of glass bottles, is understood to be threatening to withdraw £500m of investment in Britain while the tax is in place.
A government spokesman said: “EPR moves the cost of dealing with waste away from taxpayers and generates over £1 billion annually. It supports investment in the UK’s recycling industry and will incentivise the shift towards more recyclable materials.”