Jane Nower - 22-Aug-2007
- A company which distributes books to retail
outlets was ordered to pay nearly £30,000
today at Bicester Magistrates Court for
failing to recover and recycle over 1900
tonnes of packaging waste between 1997 and
2006.
The sum includes £1,080 in costs
to the Environment Agency and an additional
£8,354 for compensation of lost registration
fees.
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations
(Packaging Waste) Regulations, a company
that handles 50 tonnes of packaging and
has a turnover greater than £2m must
be registered with the Environment Agency
or a compliance scheme. Each year, the company
must also provide evidence of payment for
the recovery and recycling of a specified
proportion of packaging waste, including
wood, aluminium, steel, cardboard and plastic.
In December 2005, The Environment Agency
wrote to Baker & Taylor - formerly known
as Advanced Marketing UK Ltd and Aura Books
Ltd - as part of routine compliance checks.
At this time the company had an annual turnover
of £32m and had handled approximately
244 tonnes of packaging in the previous
calendar year and therefore was obligated
under the regulations to provide evidence
of recycling.
The regulations are designed to make companies
assess the amount of packaging they use
and, where possible, limit their consumption.
For the packaging remaining, companies are
expected to invest in the recycling industry.
Details of the regulations are available
in trade journals, through trade organisations
and online but unfortunately, many businesses
remain unaware of this responsibility, and
year on year packaging continues to pile
up in the UK’s landfill sites. By not registering
Baker & Taylor saved an estimated £13,123.44
in costs and £8,354 in registration
fees.
Sue Gebbels, environment officer said:
"We are grateful to Baker & Taylor
for their co-operation with our investigations
and the steps they took to ensure future
compliance with the regulations.
"However, the money raised from compliance
with this legislation goes directly to the
recycling industry. The failure by this
company to ensure they met their responsibilities
means that over these years there was less
investment in the recycling industry than
there should have been."
Notes for editors
The Producer Responsibility (Packaging
Waste) Regulations were originally implemented
in 1997 as a result of the EU Packaging
Directive. The regulations are designed
to make companies assess the amount of packaging
they use and, where possible, limit the
amount used. For the packaging remaining,
companies have a responsibility to invest
in the recycling industry. The amount of
recovery and recycling is dependent on the
type of activity the company performs on
the packaging and the tonnage handled.
As the majority of companies are unable
to take back their packaging, a system was
set up whereby they purchase Packaging Recovery
Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Export Recovery
Notes (PERNs) to the value of their obligation.
The money from these PRNs/PERNs is used
by the reprocessors of the packaging to
improve the efficiency of their process,
to expand their facilities, and assist with
the funding of domestic recycling schemes,
etc
+ More
Environment Agency staff appeal for reports
of dead otters
Alexandra Wales - 21-Aug-2007 - Environment
Agency staff are appealing for people to
tell them if they find a dead otter so that
information can be collected for a national
project which is monitoring the health of
the population.
The Newcastle-based team collect the bodies
of dead otters and send them off to Cardiff
University for a post-mortem. This confirms
how the otter died and reveals how healthy
it was, its diet, and the levels of chemicals
in the body.
The post-mortem results are then fed into
an Environment Agency database of the species
for England and Wales.
An 11-year study by the Environment Agency,
which was published in June, showed that
otter populations are healthy and are expanding.
The work is still continuing and biodiversity
officer Rachael McFarlane is urging people
in Northumberland and County Durham to contact
her as soon as they spot a dead otter so
she can collect the body for analysis.
She said: “Otter populations are growing
in the North East, and this is reflected
in the number of otter deaths that have
been reported to us. The main problem seems
to be with young otters that don’t know
much about road safety, leaving home and
getting run over.
“We rely on people to report dead otters
to us, and without this, we wouldn’t be
able to undertake this research to increase
our knowledge about populations in the North
East.”
Rachael has collected seven dead otters
since October last year. They were mostly
young males, involved in traffic accidents.
The accidents occur when otters cross roads
to either find new territory or because
their normal paths are blocked when water
levels rise, making bridges and culverts
impassable. All deaths reported to the team
are plotted on maps to identify where otter
blackspots are occurring.
Staff can look at whether it is possible
to carry out any improvements to make these
areas safer with otter crossing signs, reflectors
and otter bridges within the channel.
Otter populations have begun to expand
across the country following a decline in
numbers between the 1950s and 1980s. The
results from the recent health study reinforces
the view that one factor behind this recovery
may be decreasing levels of organochlorine
chemicals (OCs) such as the insecticides,
dieldrin and aldrin.
The insecticide was used extensively by
farmers but was withdrawn from use from
1962 and banned by 1989 but research shows
that it can take up to 25 years for 95 per
cent of dieldrin in soil to disappear.
If anyone finds a dead otter in Northumberland
or County Durham, they should report it
to Environment Agency biodiversity officer
Rachael McFarlane on 0191 203 4238.
+ More
Environment Agency uses red dye to help
protect the River Don
Alexandra Wales - 20-Aug-2007 - Rivers
around Sheffield and Rotherham could be
turning red as part of a unique experiment
to help the Environment Agency provide better
protection against pollution in the future.
Staff will be putting red dye in the River
Loxley below Damflask reservoir on Tuesday
night (Aug 21), and again on Tuesday, August
28 on the River Little Don near Underbank
Reservoir. Both reservoirs are near Sheffield.
The dye, called Rhodamine WT, is harmless
to river life and people, and the aim of
the experiment is to assess how quickly
a release of water from the reservoirs will
take to travel down the tributary rivers
into the Don.
The information will help to gauge how
much water should be released to dilute
and flush away any future pollution in the
river.
Environment Agency team leader for the
area Jo Briddock said: “People may see faint
traces of red dye in the rivers but it will
be heavily diluted by the time it reaches
populated areas, and there is no cause for
alarm. The dye is harmless and will not
have any affect on the river or people.
“During the floods, there was a large amount
of sewage in the rivers and we put this
plan together to dilute the pollution. Luckily,
there was no need to use it because the
rivers recovered on their own but we still
want to test out our plan, and make any
improvements.”
Staff will be looking in particular at
how fast the dye reaches the Don around
Blackburn Meadows which handles all Sheffield's
sewage.
In June, it was overwhelmed by the floods
which meant that untreated sewage entered
the Don, and Yorkshire Water worked round
the clock to restore treatment at the facility.
And in June 2006, the Don suffered a major
pollution incident which killed fish between
Rotherham and Doncaster.
Jo said: “We are working with Yorkshire
Water on the experiment, and the results
will be invaluable in helping us to protect
the River Don in the future.”
Following the floods, the Environment Agency
took daily water samples from 12 sites on
the Don, Rother and Dearne to monitor the
pollution.
However, the team has now scaled back its
operation because tests show that the region’s
rivers are returning to normal.
Notes to editors: The dye will be released
into the rivers after dark, and is dependent
on the weather.
+ More
Environment Agency factsheet on changes
to dealing with contaminated soil waste
National Press Office - 20-Aug-2007 - A
factsheet to help contaminated land sector
understand the changes to landfill regulations
which come into play later this year has
published by the Environment Agency.
Liz Parkes, Head of Waste at the Environment
Agency, said: “Currently contaminated soils
that are hazardous need to be treated before
sent to landfill. However from 30th October
2007, new rules mean all contaminated soils,
whether hazardous or non-hazardous, must
be treatment before they are landfilled.
"For businesses who produce or manage
contaminated soils this means you will have
to review how you manage your waste. If
your waste does go to landfill, check to
see if it is already being treated. If it
isn't you will need to treat it or ensure
that your waste management company does
this for you."
Contaminated soils maybe hazardous or non-hazardous.
Currently pre-treatment rules already apply
hazardous contaminated soils so many landfill
operators and land remediation companies
are aware of the rules. However, to help
explain what needs to be done, the Environment
Agency has been working with members of
the waste and industry to produce a factsheet,
detailing the changes.
Liz Parkes added: "There are many
easy ways for these businesses to treat
waste and deliver real environmental improvements.
Much of the waste we send to landfill is
already treated, however for some wastes
more effort is needed. Treatment can simply
be separating the waste on site, and recycling
one or more of the separated components."
These changes are the part of the Landfill
Directive, which will require all waste
to be treated before it is disposed of at
a landfill site from 30 October 2007. At
the same time, liquid waste will be banned
from any landfill.
The new factsheet for dealing with contaminated
soils is available to download at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/landfilldirective
or by calling 08708 506 506.
