KTC (Edibles) Ltd, which operates from an 11-acre site at Wednesbury in the West Midlands, pleaded guilty this week to six charges related to the packaging waste regulations.
” KTC (Edibles) Ltd's non-compliance has meant that there was less investment in the recycling industry, particularly the steel recycling industry “
– Beth Haste, Environment Agency
The regulations require any company above a certain size, operating in the packaging supply chain, to pay for its share of meeting UK recycling targets for packaging.
West Bromwich magistrates heard on Monday that KTC Edibles had carried out its recycling obligations through the compliance scheme Onyxpak from the year 2000 until 2003. The court also ordered the company to pay costs of 1,154.
However, the company did not register in 2004 or 2005 and was investigated by the Agency in December 2005.
Steel
The Environment Agency estimated that the company avoided paying for 972 tonnes of packaging waste to be recovered over the two years – including 728 tonnes of steel packaging.
The Agency estimated that by doing so, the company could have avoided costs as high as 47,592, estimating the average cost to packaging producers of meeting metal packaging obligations at 95 per tonne in 2005.
KTC Edibles said its failure to comply in 2004 and 2005 had been an “oversight”.
Commenting after the case, Agency investigating officer Beth Haste said: “The aim of these regulations is to make businesses take responsibility for the packaging waste used in their operations and reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill. The money raised from compliance with this legislation goes directly to the recycling industry.
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“KTC (Edibles) Ltd's non-compliance has meant that there was less investment in the recycling industry, particularly the steel recycling industry, than there should have been for 2004 and 2005,” Ms Haste explained.
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