Jane Nower - 6-Sep-2007
- A wine importer and distributor was ordered
to pay £78,836 at Hendon Magistrates
Court today for failing to recover and recycle
over 1,370 tonnes of packaging waste.
Bibendum Ltd, based in Regents Park Road,
London, NW1, began life in 1982 and has
since grown into a major wine importer and
distributor to restaurants, sports venues,
clubs and private customers.
The company pleaded guilty to failing to
register with the Environment Agency as
a producer of packaging, and to failing
to meet its requirements to recover and
recycle packaging waste between 1998 and
2005.
It was calculated that the company had
avoided costs of around £55,000 by
not purchasing the correct amount of Packaging
Recovery Notes as required by the Regulations
since 1998. The company was fined £70,000,
which included the avoided costs, plus an
additional fine of £15,000. The magistrates
also ordered the company to pay £2,000
in costs to the Environment Agency and to
pay compensation of £6,836 to the
Environment Agency for the lost registration
fees.
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations
(Packaging Waste) Regulations, all businesses
with an annual turnover in excess of £2
million that handle more than 50 tonnes
of packaging each year, 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, aluminum,
steel, cardboard and plastic.
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 organisations
remain unaware of this responsibility, and
year on year packaging continues to pile
up in the UK’s landfill sites.
The Environment Agency discovered the waste
management discrepancy at Bibendum Ltd in
June 2005 as part of routine checks. After
two reminders the company signed up to a
compliance scheme, Tag Pack, in March 2006,
and registered with the Environment Agency
in April 2006.
However, the company has fully co-operated
with the Environment Agency throughout the
investigation and also recycles waste through
the local authority scheme, with plans to
reduce the volume and impact of their glass
waste.
Jacqueline Anthony said: "We are grateful
to Bibendum Ltd for their cooperation 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."
Ends
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
