Price Hikes Loom for Festive Favourites in Glass Bottles and Jars

10th December 2024

Christmas favourites such as mulled wine, pickled onions and cranberry sauce are expected to rocket in price following a tax on the glass industry, warns industry association British Glass.

The government is introducing a tax on food and drink manufacturers which will add extra cost to heavier packaging such as glass. This will come into force in April 2025.
 
The new tax on food and drink packaging will be around 50 times higher for glass beverages (based on a 330ml bottle) than other materials leaving brands with no choice but to increase prices for products packaged in glass or move to other less recyclable materials such as plastic.
 
This means an 18-pack of bottled beer could cost shoppers an extra £1 when the new glass tax, VAT, and supply chain costs are added. Whereas if beer is packaged in plastic or metal, there will be no increase.
 
The Government’s own analysis published recently found implementing the tax could increase yearly expenditure by up to £56 per household1. British Glass believes the cost could be even higher once additional supply chain costs and VAT are added.
 
British Glass has accused the Government of shattering the UK glass sector and putting jobs at risk with its new Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme.
 
Leading brands such as Timothy Taylor, Belvoir Farm and Henry Westons Vintage Cider have echoed concerns.
 
Chief Executive of British Glass, Dave Dalton, said:
 
“This could be the “Last Christmas” for UK manufactured glass and favourite products that are traditionally packaged in glass.
 
“British Glass supports the principle of pEPR and that packaging waste collection and recycling needs to be reformed to deliver a circular economy for the UK but this scheme is a hammer blow for the industry, manufacturers and consumers.
 
“We are at risk of losing our food and manufacturing heritage and increasing plastic pollution.
 
“Christmas isn’t the same without our favourite bottles and jars of pickles and some manufacturers simply can’t package in plastic. Plastic can distort flavour, necessitating the addition of extra preservatives, and some food is simply better hot-filled in glass.  This is absolute madness.
 
“We expect to see price hikes for consumers who are already feeling the pinch at the till.”
 
The aim of pEPR is to shift Council collection and recycling costs to industry through a levy on packaging materials, but pEPR, which will be implemented based on weight, will incentivise the move away from glass packaging to lighter but less recyclable materials such as plastic packaging.
 
To put this into context, glass has a recycling rate of 70 while plastic is around 50.2
 
“We are already seeing the impact of brands moving away from glass, as they are now purchasing their packaging for 2025,” added Dave Dalton. “Others have been quite clear they’ll need to pass these additional costs onto consumers.
 
“We urge the Government to sit down with British Glass to revise this ill-thought-out scheme which will have unintended consequences for the industry, the environment and working people.”
 
Best-selling brands such as Henry Westons Vintage Cider have joined British Glass in criticising the pEPR scheme.
 
Darryl Hinksman, Head of Business Development, at Henry Westons Vintage Cider, said:
 
“Our biggest selling brand is Henry Westons Vintage Cider and the vast majority of the volume we sell is in 500ml bottles. We think the glass bottle plays an integral part establishing the brand’s premium credentials; something that differentiates the brand from some of its competitors. The cost impact of pEPR will unfairly hit our consumers and that, coupled with the duty increase scheduled for early next year, will have a significant inflationary impact on the price of the UK’s biggest-selling apple bottled cider.”
 
Tim Dewey, Chief Executive, Timothy Taylor’s, added:
 
“While we strongly support recycling efforts in the UK, the government now wants to transfer Council recycling costs to industry through Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR). The costs on glass are significant, with published data suggesting they impact us between £125,000 and £235,000 annually. We have no way to mitigate this. Our product is best sold in bottles, so will have no choice but to pass this onto our customers, with the impact likely to be an increase in prices to consumers of between 4p to 7p per bottle.”
 
Tom Ebdon, Factory Manager, Somerset Cider Solutions said:
 
"The haphazard pEPR legislation is set to have both significant and unintended consequences for the UK food and drinks industry. In its current format, pEPR will decimate glass bottles as a packaging format, despite glass being widely known to be one of the most recyclable and indeed recycled materials on the planet.”