This followed several successful prosecutions in the county for breaches of the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations, for which the maximum fine is 5,000 for each offence.
” The hefty fines show that the magistrates take these offences seriously “
– David Brodie, Environment Agency
Panini UK was fined 9,000 with 206.75 costs by Sevenoaks magistrates' court after it pleaded guilty to three offences and asked for a further 15 to be taken into consideration.
In another case, a Kent-based holding company with several subsidiaries was fined 40,000 for nine offences.
Three other Kent businesses have had fines totalling 50,000 imposed in the past two months.
The agency pointed out that the regulations require companies with an annual turnover in excess of 2m, and which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year, to register with the agency or join a registered compliance scheme.
They must provide evidence that they have recovered and recycled a designated amount of waste.
Environment Agency officer David Brodie said: “The hefty fines show that the magistrates take these offences seriously.
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“These regulations are in place to help reduce the amount of packaging that goes into landfill sites.
“The amount of recycled packaging has increased but these prosecutions have shown that some companies ignore their responsibilities.”
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