Riassunto analitico
There is a term which can easily describe the status in which our society is drenched in, and that one is Plastic Age purposely invented to mark the near-universal spread of plastic around Earth. Disposability, durability and lightweightness are the most known properties of this peculiar material that came to revolutionise our way of life. Greenhouse gases, leaching of toxic components and marine debris are instead the most known negative consequences of its production and waste disposal. The successful story of plastic invention turned out to be an environmental tragedy. Europe – as much as any other geographical region – is affected by plastic pollution, and therefore decided to counterattack the spread of plastic through an encompassing normative framework made of bans, strict design regulations and reduction targets.
Aspiring to become the global agenda setter on green transition and in line with the Next Generation EU plan, the European Union decided to prioritise a shift towards a circular economy model therefore increasing green investments while relying on new environmental taxes. In this sense the use of environmental taxation – through a tax to be applied on plastic packaging waste – serves not only as an environmental policy measure but also as a new own resource, raising revenue for the EU budget while encouraging a shift towards a greener economy.
This article investigates how the national plastic contribution fits within the European environmental policies and why did Europe felt the urge to recur to an environmental tax policy instrument to stimulate the path towards circular economy. If this measure will be successful cannot be judged at this moment given its recent implementation, however a number of critical observations can be made. Firstly, its environmental purpose is not sufficiently outlined, rather it is mainly used to raise revenue for the EU budget. Secondly, the revenue generated by the tax cannot be stable in the long term considering that the measure is deemed to be successful if the tax base – the plastic waste – diminishes. Thirdly, the draft of the measure does not provide for cohesion leaving Member States free to choose whether to adopt a tax or to pay the estimated amount out of their national budget. Lastly, in the absence of tax credits and economic incentives provided by the Member States, the tax disproportionately burden the plastics industry.
The plastic tax certainly contributes in enriching the overall European environmental policy with its focus on recycling and recovery, however its design and implementation pave the way for a predictable failure.
|
