Bodum (UK) Ltd, of Swan Valley, Northampton, was fined 12,000 by Northampton Magistrates' Court last week and ordered to pay costs of 1,125.
The Danish-owned company did not meet its obligations in 2003 or 2004 despite handling over 215 tonnes of packaging waste a year and having a turnover of 8.2 million in 2003 and 7.8 million in 2004.
However, managing director Jane Wilkinson said that managers were unaware of the company's obligations, and suggested that the company may not have received appropriate information when the packaging regulations came in 1997.
Under the packaging regulations, any company handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year with an annual turnover of more than 2 million must recover and recycle a percentage of their packaging waste, or pay for it to be carried out.
Bodum (UK) Ltd, which is now registered with a compliance scheme, pleaded guilty to not registering with a compliance scheme or the Environment Agency. The company also pleaded guilty to not taking reasonable steps to recover and recycle packaging waste and to not providing the Environment Agency with a certificate of proof.
Duty
Northampton magistrates were told that Bodum (UK) Ltd has not only failed its environmental duty but also saved 1,997 during 2003 and 2004. A conservative estimate of the total sum avoided from 1999 to 2005 is about 11,641.
After the hearing Environment Agency officer Charles Phillips said: “The aim of these regulations is to make businesses the responsibility for the packaging used in their operations and reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill.”
He added: “We will not hesitate to take action against companies who ignore the packaging rules.”
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