Italy postpones €450/tonne tax on virgin plastic until 2021

LONDON (ICIS)–Italy’s Minister of the Economy, Roberto Gualtieri, has announced the postponement of a proposed €450/tonne tax on virgin plastic until 2021, the country’s media reported today.

The proposed tax was due to come into effect on 1 July, and would have applied to all virgin plastic with the exception of recycled plastics and compostable bioplastics.

According to Italian website Polimercia, the Italian parliament will discuss the tax this week, although an exact date has not been set for its implementation.

At the beginning of this year, sources in the recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) market expressed concerns that the tax, which is aimed at increasing the amount of recycled plastic used in Italy, would have the opposite effect and drive consumers away from plastics altogether.