British families face higher grocery bills from environmental ‘food tax’

Families in the United Kingdom are expected to pay more at the supermarket when new environmental laws targeting retailers take effect next year.

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will hold retailers responsible for a product’s “sustainability” throughout its entire life cycle, even post-consumption. In simple terms, the law will force retailers to pay for recycling once the consumer is finished with the product. 

When products are collected and recycled by local municipality councils, the cost will be passed on to the retailers. Climate messianists hope this will force retailers and manufacturers to use more “sustainable” packaging, which will help the government achieve its goal of “net zero emissions”.

The British Retail Consortium lobby estimates that cost to be about £4 billion per year ($5 billion), which will lead to higher prices. Consumers can expect to pay over £140 ($176) more in shopping bills a year before inflation.

“It makes no sense at all to try to cap food prices on the one hand and implement a new tax on food on the other,” commented former Minister of State Lord David Frost. “In a cost of living crisis, what people absolutely do not need is for food prices to go up because we are putting more unnecessary costs on business with the spurious justification of net zero.” 

Furthermore, even though consumers will be paying for collection and recycling through the EPR, thereby eliminating the cost for local councils, the councils will continue taxing them at the same rate.

And while a £140 annual increase may be considered nominal by some, it constitutes yet another cost families must dole out to appease the climate.

An environmental proposal from Britain’s Labour Party is expected to cost British families an extra £1,000 ($1,247) per year, according to official estimates.

Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to officially unveil the £28 billion ($35 billion) Net Zero plan in Scotland this month, which aims to lower carbon emissions to “fight climate change”. 

As part of the plan, Starmer has made clear he intends to limit oil and gas extraction in the North Sea by refusing to grant any further licenses.

Starmer is facing strong criticism and fierce opposition to the plan. Oil union Offshore Energies UK says the initiative is likely to cost 40,000 jobs and cause a 60% reduction in domestic oil and gas production. GMB, a general trade union and one of Labour’s largest supporters, also warned that the plan will cost jobs. Some Labour MPs are worried the proposal will cost them votes, because “voters care more about jobs than green stuff.” 

“It's all middle class bollocks,” another Labour MP told the Daily Mail. “We won't reach our targets for converting to electric cars and we may end up simply importing fossil fuels from abroad.”

A Treasury analysis found that the £28 billion plan is likely to hike interest rates by 0.75%. On a £200,000 ($250,000) mortgage, this comes out to an extra £83 ($103) per month, or £996 ($1,240) a year.