Modern business leaders find it more efficient to pay fines than to recycle old packaging, Irina Bakhtina, Unilever NAMET RUB Vice President for Sustainable Development and Corporate Relations, told a news conference, Retailers Forced to Clean Up: What Happens to Prices? at the NSN news agency on Monday, September 30.
“Green products made using green energy and packed in recycled materials are 30–40% more expensive than regular ones. That is why manufacturers are not too eager to produce such goods – it is economically inefficient. It is cheaper to pay fines than to build waste processing facilities, which will not pay off until 7-10 years,” the expert noted.
She also pointed out that 90% of polymer waste today gets thrown out of the economy and into the ecosystem.
“Only 10% is recycled, that is, to change the situation, the first step should be to change the legislation. Non-environmental products need to be discredited,” Irina Bakhtina said.
Deputy Director General of the Russian Environmental Operator state company Alexei Makrushin also pointed out the need to improve the administration of eco-tax.
“It is more advisable to focus on the collection of the environmental charge from enterprises that produce packaging,” he concluded.