Northamptonshire company fined for breaking recycling laws

A Northamptonshire company has been prosecuted by the Environment Agency for breaking recycling laws.  Eden Industries (UK) of Wellingborough has been fined £8,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,250 for failing to comply with packaging regulations for two years.

The Wellingborough magistrates were told that the failure to recycle had been revealed during a routine enquiry in November 2006.  The company said that it had been unaware of the rules regarding recycling and had probably made the person responsible redundant during restructuring of the company.

Companies carry out their obligation by registering with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme and buying sufficient packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) from accredited packaging waste re-processors to demonstrate they have paid for enough recovery to meet their obligation.  During the years 2003 and 2004 Eden Industries (UK) had handled 198 tonnes and 297 tonnes of packaging respectively.

Magistrates were told that the aim of the regulations is to make businesses take responsibility for the packaging used in their operations and reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill.

Following the hearing, Duncan Beaumont of the Environment Agency said:

“These regulations have been in force since 1997 requiring companies to prove the recovery of waste packaging. Yet some companies still either remain ignorant of, or ignore their responsibilities. The Environment Agency will actively seek to find and prosecute such companies.”