GETTING IN A JAM

A glass tax means heritage brands and normal suppliers face rising costs for sustainable packaging. Hannah Twiggs finds out that it's not just preserves being put in a sticky situation

- Hannah Twiggs

There are few things more British than a piece of toast, generously buttered and topped with a spoonful of strawberry jam. It’s the stuff of rainy mornings, cream teas and pantry shelves lined like museum displays. But there’s a storm brewing in the preserves aisle, and it’s coming for your jars.

The cause? A new glass packaging tax, introduced as part of the government’s packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) scheme. In theory, it’s a sound idea: get producers to cover the full cost of recycling their packaging, shifting the burden from local authorities to the companies that make the stuff in the first place. In practice? It’s proving less than jammy for some of Britain’s most iconic food producers.

“Wilkin & Sons have proudly filled in glass jars for the last 140 years,” says Chris Newenham, joint managing director of the manufacturer, which produces Tiptree jams. “Glass for us offers the best balance between maintaining exceptional product quality, being visually appealing and most importantly, is infinitely recyclable.”

Yet under the new scheme, glass is being priced out of the picture. A weight-based system means producers pay by the tonne, and glass, being heavy, racks up a sizeable bill.

British Glass, the trade body representing the industry, has long supported the principle that those placing packaging on the market should contribute to its collection and recycling. “However, the way in which packaging pEPR fees have been structured places a disproportionate burden on glass, despite its high recyclability and well-established closed-loop recycling system,” they tell me.