Recycling warning to businesses

Businesses are being warned to keep abreast of environmental regulations after a soft drinks firm was fined for failing to meet recycling obligations. Purity Soft Drinks Limited was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £2,376 in costs after failing to join a recycling scheme between 2004 and 2006.

Purity Soft Drinks appeared at West Bromwich Magistrates' Court and entered guilty pleas to six offences of failing to comply with the Producer Responsibility Obligations Regulations.

The Regulations, last updated in 2008, are designed to encourage more sustainable use of packaging by promoting recovery / recycling / minimisation – thus reducing the amount of packaging waste going to landfill and minimising resource wastage. A company is obligated if its turnover in the previous financial year was more than £2m per year and it handles (in aggregate) more than 50 tonnes of packaging material and/or packaging in a year. It is then required to ensure that a proportion of the packaging is diverted from the waste stream and recovered for reuse, recycling or incinerated with energy recovery.

Speaking after the case, the Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation, said: “This case highlights the need for all companies to keep abreast of environmental regulation.  The company was unaware of the Regulations and their implications.  Any company with a turnover of over £2 million and handling over 50 tonnes of packaging per annum may be obligated and should seek advice to ensure compliance with the Regulations.”

In mitigation, the defence representative stated that the offences had occurred due to a genuine lack of awareness and understanding of the Regulations, rather than a deliberate flouting of the law.