Southgate Global is helping organisations successfully navigate their Plastic Packaging Tax obligations with the introduction of a new Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified product range. Having been introduced only three years ago, the tax is coming into increased scrutiny, especially in regards to its weak verification systems. This has had the undesirable effect of suggesting virgin plastic is being sold under false recycled claims.
In its first 10 months of being rolled out, PPT raised over £28m more than expected. Combined with additional pressures on the supply chain, such as increased costs and geopolitical instability, concerns over the enforcement and effectiveness of the tax have risen. PPT was supposed to provide an economic incentive for businesses from all sectors, including packaging, logistics, and manufacturing, in order to increase recycled plastic use. PPT applies a thirty percent tax on all packaging that uses less than 30% recycled plastic, thus increasing the cost of virgin plastics. This was intended to promote a circular economy.
Gavin Gill, Head of Compliance at Southgate, said: “While it’s encouraging to see steps being taken to combat the use of virgin plastic, it’s concerning that both the infrastructure and procedures to facilitate the use of more recycled packaging aren’t always in place. This can add to confusion for businesses in what can already be a complicated process, involving complex record-keeping.”
In recognition of this, Southgate has invested in a GRS-certified air cushion range. This gives businesses a simple switch in order to avoid paying PPT on these consumables. Combined, this helps organisations cut costs, reduce waste, and support the circular economy.
The Pacplus air cushion range uses 30% fully certified recycled content, whilst also being 100% recyclable. Pacplus also offers a sustainable void fill without any compromise on quality, cost, or performance. From packaging fragile items to filling box voids, Southgate is offering lightweight and eco-friendly protection at a lower cost than many alternatives. Working with most air cushion machines currently available on the market, Pacplus is easily integrated into operations. There are only minimal changes to any setup required for the implementation of this product in a company’s supply chain.
In addition, Southgate has launched an Eco Product Framework in order to support its commitment to sustainability. This aims at cutting waste and saving resources by taking achievable and immediate steps towards a greener future for its business and customers. The Framework consists of the 5Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace, and Repair. Each new and existing Southgate listing, including Pacplus consumables, is reviewed. These segments provide a structure for the evaluation of Southgate’s entire product range, ensuring that every offering is properly considered through a sustainability lens and that items delivering on key promises are highlighted.
Gavin added: “Our Pacplus air cushions are just one of our many products which is helping to tackle real issues that our customers are facing. It’s not just about producing products that are sustainable as a box-ticking exercise, but about investing in solutions that help organisations cut waste in ways that don’t impact their productivity and their bottom line.”
Companies have an obligation to meet climate standards set out by government regulations. However, that does not mean they have to, to the exclusion of all other avenues, adhere to regulations alone. Rather, there are multiple paths of divergence in terms of how to construct a sustainable supply chain to promote green ideas to other potential partners. Southgate demonstrates the capacity for companies to collaborate on sustainability initiatives whilst skirting around government regulation, thus achieving a business gold standard: a more sustainable product line with a lower overall cost.
