Lister-Petter of Long Street, Dursley, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty at Stroud Magistrates to four charges relating to the company failing to meet the conditions of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. The company was fined 18,000 and ordered to pay 1,135 costs to the Agency.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency as a result of the Lister-Petter’s failure to register for the year 2000, failing to recover and recycle waste they produced, failing to provide a certificate of compliance and failing to register under the regulations for the year 2001 while an investigation into the three offences was being carried out.
Representing the Agency, Mrs Kalbir Gill told the court that in August 2000, the Environment Agency became aware that the company had not registered under the Producer Responsibility Regulations, having registered previously in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
In March 2001, the company was interviewed and failed to produce sufficient evidence of meeting its recovery and recycling obligations. The company did not register under the regulations for 2001 by the due date of April 7 but registered with a compliance scheme later that year.
In mitigation, Ms Alison Crippson, for Lister-Petter, said that the company had registered in the past and that there were considerable changes made to the company to ensure that that they are now complying with the regulations.
Speaking after the case, Agency officer Simone Aplin, said: “UK companies produce approximately 12 million tonnes of waste packaging. The packaging regulations are aimed at reducing this quantity of waste being landfilled and promoting the recycling of packaging. It is important that every company with a turnover of over 2million a year is aware of their responsibilities under these regulations and help us to meet the UK’s national target, set by the European Commission, for recycling packaging waste.”
Subscribe for free