A printing firm has been fined £12,000 for failing to comply with packaging regulations for two years.
The Print Factory, based in Northampton, was also ordered to pay £1,271 in costs at Northampton Magistrates' Court, last Friday (September 21, 2007) after pleading guilty to six offences relating to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations.
Although the regulations have been in force since 1997, some companies still either ignore or remain unaware of their responsibilities.
Companies can pay reprocessors to recycle packaging on their behalf but must purchase packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) as evidence that enough material has been recycled to meet the obligations. Companies also have to register with the Environment Agency or an accredited compliance scheme before April 7, each year.
The Print Factory handled 113.8 tonnes of packaging in 2003 and 153 tonnes of packaging in 2004 and had a turnover of more than £5 million for 2003 and 2004. It had not registered with a compliance scheme.
The Print Factory's group purchasing manager Maryn Cox said it had not registered because the company was not aware of the regulations. Mr Cox said he learned of the regulations when he saw an invoice for the registration of a subsidiary of the Print Factory.
Savings
Magistrates at Northampton said the company had not only failed in its environmental duty but also saved £3,236 during 2004 and 2005 by not registering to recover and recycle. The company also asked for offences committed during 2002 and 2003 to be taken into consideration. It was estimated that the total sum avoided from 2002 to 2005 was about £6,186. The company has since been registered with a compliance scheme.
After the hearing Environment Agency officer Duncan Beaumont said: “The aim of these regulations is to provide the funding for the recycling industry to recycle or recover more material.
“Although the regulations have been in force since 1997, some companies still either ignore or remain unaware of their responsibilities. Our policy is to try to find and prosecute companies which are found to be in breach of these regulations,” he added.
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In this week's Opinion column on letsrecycle.com, producer responsibility expert Edward Cooke looks into whether the packaging recovery legislation is working effectively 10 years on from the Packaging Regulations.
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