Environment Agency prosecution - ignorance not an excuse

The Environment Agency is warning employers that ignorance is not excusable for failing to comply with environmental legislation.

In the Agency's latest case, a Southampton firm was successfully prosecuted after failing to register under the producer responsibility regulations for packaging waste.

The director of JPM Aggregates Ltd, Mr Stuart Childerley, contacted the Environment Agency last year to find out about his responsibilities under the Producer Responsibility Regulations. The company found it had failed to register for the year 2000, but claimed they did not know how to.

The firm was fined £700 and made to pay costs of £837.

For employers wanting to know more about the Packaging Waste Regulations, the Workplacelaw Network has published a guide. The author, David Symons of WS Atkins Environment, warns employers: "The Regulations affect you if you (or the group of companies of which your company forms a part) pass two thresholds: you have a turnover of more than £2 million and you handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging in a year."
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