Shoppers will face a £1 billion ‘toaster tax’ under plans for a new set of net zero rules, retailers and Conservative MPs have warned.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has unveiled plans to require larger stores to take back used electrical items such as toasters for recycling, even if the items were purchased elsewhere.
The plans would also see online and retail chains have to offer a “free collection service”, where they would have to take away a customer’s old appliance, such as a washing machine, television or fridge, when they make deliveries. a new.
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, told The Telegraph that the new requirements could cost businesses “£1 billion or more” a year – an amount that would be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
The government emphasizes that the measures are necessary to prevent millions of household electrical appliances from ending up in landfill every year.
Plans are ‘terrible’
The plans threaten to revive Tory rows over burdensome net zero rules, which the Prime Minister vowed to eschew in favor of a “pragmatic and proportionate” approach to decarbonization that would avoid unnecessary pressure on households and businesses.
David Jones, the Conservative MP and former Brexit minister, described the plans as ‘terrible’ and akin to a stealth ‘toaster tax’.
An official analysis accompanying the government’s consultation paper admits that the cost of the plan, while paid upfront by retailers, “could then be passed on to consumers through higher prices” – despite Downing Street insisting the current focus is on easing from the “pressure” of consumers. the high cost of living.
“It will become an invisible burden that everyone pays,” Ms Dickinson said, adding that, contrary to Mr Sunak’s pledge to take a “pragmatic and proportionate” approach to net zero, “it will doesn’t feel pragmatic.”
The government’s consultation document setting out the planned changes – which would be introduced from 2026 – says they are part of a series of measures that will “affect the entire economy’s transition to net zero”.
Mrs Dickinson said: “We think [the bill would be] in the hundreds of millions of pounds plus, and could be £1 billion or more.” The costs would be borne by retailers rather than being funded from revenue already generated through business rates and council tax.
Mr Jones added: “This is exactly the kind of burdensome regulation we thought we would get rid of when we left the EU.
“This is an extraordinary burden on businesses and the government should have nothing to do with it. I think it’s completely unreasonable for them to expect retailers to do that.”
‘Shops may stop selling electrical goods’
The most controversial proposal is that “retailers with a turnover of more than £100,000 in electricity sales per year should offer free in-store take-back of unwanted electrical equipment without having to purchase a new item”.
Ms Dickinson said some stores may simply stop selling electrical appliances to avoid being subject to the requirements.
If a large pharmacy were to sell electrical items such as hair irons and hairdryers, it would be required to accept equivalent items purchased from other stores.
Ms Dickinson said: “If retailers have to take in more than they sell, some selling only small volumes may stop selling them altogether and larger supermarkets may also reduce the range on offer, reducing choice for customers.”
Richer Sounds, the television and hi-fi retailer, warned that its 50 stores were already “full to the brim” with stock.
Julie Abraham, the company’s chief executive, told The Telegraph that the chain does not have “huge empty rooms to store every broken TV, radio and speaker that might be left in our stores under the proposed changes to electrical recycling rules”.
She added: “This means we would have to increase our stores’ collections to remove these items, increasing our carbon footprint and creating new costs for our business, the environment and ultimately our customers.”
‘We can’t do it for free’
The plans are also being opposed by Currys, with CEO Alex Baldock saying the company’s existing recycling policy means it “accounts for almost half of all retail technology recycling in Britain”.
Earlier this month, Mr Baldock warned that retailers were already making just £3 on every £100, adding: “We can’t do it for free.”
The row comes after The Telegraph revealed last week that ministers had angered Tory MPs by quietly pushing through legal changes that amounted to a significant extension of New Labour’s Equality Act, which Mr Sunak once claimed would “encourage every kind of woke had allowed nonsense to permeate public life” and “must stop”.
The latest revelations concern an ongoing consultation over plans to require ‘manufacturers and distributors’ of electrical equipment to finance ‘the full net cost’ of recycling or otherwise disposing of used electronic products, to prevent them from end up in the landfill.
Ms Dickinson said the costs borne by retailers would include the “opportunity costs” of wasted space that would otherwise be used for storing, displaying and delivering stock.
Currently, retailers with a turnover of more than £100,000 on electrical equipment must take back unwanted electrical equipment when a customer purchases a new, equivalent version of the same item. This service is rarely advertised due to the additional costs that stores would face if it became a popular alternative to disposing of old items at local authority recycling centres.
‘Plans will make recycling easier’
The government wants to expand the existing rules so that the obligation for shops is no longer ‘linked to the purchase of a new item’. Shops would also be legally obliged to inform customers of their obligation to accept old electrical appliances.
The consultation document suggested that one option would be to limit the “take-back” service to products that are “equivalent” to the items each store sells. That option “would, for example, avoid a scenario where a specialist electronics retailer selling only lighting products would be required to take back a toaster,” the consultation document said.
Ms Dickinson criticized the Government for failing to engage more extensively with the business community on the proposals before they were published. The consultation closes on March 7.
She said: “The government has been dithering for years and has now announced proposals that are flawed because they chose not to work with the retailers – who are vital to the success of increasing electrical recycling.”
Steve Pendleton, services director at Currys, said: “At Currys we already operate a scaled and successful solution that meets the objectives of our customers and the planet, and is sustainable for our business. We strongly urge the Government to focus on harnessing the innovative and competitive nature of the entire retail sector to support everyone reaching equal footing.”
A spokesperson for Defra said: “Every year, millions of household electrical appliances in the UK end up in the bin instead of being properly recycled or reused. These proposals will make it easier for people to recycle electrical appliances and bring about the much-needed transition to a more circular economy.
“We have consulted widely on these plans, including with industry leaders, and we will fully consider all consultation responses before taking the next steps.” Around 155,000 tonnes of smaller household electrical appliances, including cables, toasters and kettles, are thrown away in conventional bins every year.