A report about why one should, and how one could, put a tax on plastic. Commisioned by Zero Waste Europe and written for an EU policy audience.
This report turned out to be a big hit in Germany. I was shipped over to the Reichstag to present it to German MPs. In German. Which I don’t really speak. Which was fun.
The primary purpose of a plastic tax, in order to achieve the aims listed above, should be to change behaviour. While in the short term a new tax could generate significant revenue, relying on this in the long term could lead to perverse consequences that drive policy-makers to oppose ambitious action to reduce usage.