From 1 April 2030, mechanically recycled plastic used in plastic packaging will be subject to mandatory certification for the purposes of PPT, following a government consultation.
The move follows plans for mandatory certification for chemically recycled plastic where businesses use a mass balance approach to account for recycled content. Those changes, which also remove pre-consumer plastic waste from the definition of recycled plastic for PPT purposes, are due to take effect from 1 April 2027.
HM Revenue and Customs launched a consultation on the draft legislation to allow chemically recycled plastic to quality for PPT on 6 October 2026 which will run until 21 December 2026.
PPT was introduced in April 2022 to encourage the use of recycled plastic in packaging. The tax applies to plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic, with businesses able to claim an exemption where they can demonstrate that packaging meets the recycled-content threshold.
The government said mandatory certification would help address the risk of fraudulent or inaccurate recycled-content claims, improve traceability and standardise the evidence businesses need to support claims for the tax exemption.
Landfill Tax
The government will increase the standard rate of Landfill Tax in England and Northern Ireland in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
The lower rate will increase by the same cash amount as the increase in the standard rate, preventing the gap between the two rates from widening.
The current rate for 2026 is £130.75 for the standard rate, and £8.85 for the lower rate.
The government will increase the cap on tax credits that landfill operators can claim for contributions to the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF), from 5.3% to 8.3% of their Landfill Tax liability.
The change is intended to help sustain the fund and support local communities.
Funding will also be provided to cover Landfill Tax liabilities arising from the planned clearance of six illegal waste sites between 2026–27 and 2028–29.
In addition, the government will introduce a three-year pilot scheme from 2027 to fund local authorities’ Landfill Tax liabilities arising from the clearance of illegal waste sites in their areas.
In the Autumn Budget 2025, former Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that the government would not proceed with plans to converge the standard and lower rates of landfill tax by 2030.
Fuel duty and HGV relief
The government also announced that it will extend the 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut and freeze until 1 July 2027.
The Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) road tax holiday will also be maintained until the same date.
The government said the measures would keep fuel duty at its lowest level for more than 16 years in cash terms, while the red diesel rate would remain at its lowest level for more than 20 years.
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