Breach of packaging regulations costs firm £19,000

A Gloucestershire firm, Lister-Petter, has been found guilty of four charges of breaching the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997.

The Environment Agency brought the charges against the firm, after it failed to register under the regulations for the year 2000. The other charges were:

   * a failure to recover and recycle waste they produced;
   * failure to provide a certificate of compliance; and
   * failing to register under the regulations for the year 2001.

The firm's mistakes cost them a fine of £18,000, and over £1,000 in costs. Simone Aplin, an Agency officer involved in the investigation, said: "UK companies produce approximately 12 million tonnes of waste packaging. The packaging regulations are aimed at reducing this quantity of waste being landfilled and promoting the recycling of packaging.

"It is important that every company with a turnover of over £2m a year is aware of their responsibilities under these regulations and help us to meet the UK’s national target, set by the European Commission, for recycling packaging waste."

David Symons, of WS Atkins, explains how employers can oblige by their obligations: "Employers have two options. You can either join a collective scheme, or alternatively, arrange to recycle the weight of packaging yourself. Most companies that are obligated by the regulations join a collective scheme. When you join, a collective scheme takes on your legal requirement to recycle your obligated weight of packaging. They will do this by charging you a fee and using this money to contract, for example, with paper mills, to recycle a certain weight of packaging on your behalf. If you have lots of packaging which can be recycled, discharging the obligation yourself might be a more cost-effective option than joining a collective scheme."

David Symon's guide to the Packaging Waste Regulations is available free to Workplacelaw Network members.
This document is for general guidance and research purposes only, and does not purport to give professional advice. Please check the date at the top of the article; the Workplace Law Network retains historic articles for general research.