Earlier this year, the government ran a call for evidence to explore how changes to the tax system or charges could be used to reduce the amount of single-use plastics we waste. It looked broadly across the whole supply chain, from production and retail to consumption and disposal, in order to gain the best possible understanding of the whole landscape to determine the best course of action. It also sought to explore how best to drive innovation in this area to achieve the same outcomes.

The government received 162,000 responses and this document provides a summary of these. It also outlines the government’s response and sets out next steps in the process.