Last week saw tyre company Watts Industrial Group fined 12,000 by Gloucestershire magistrates after pleading guilt to 12 charges under the Packaging Waste Regulations. The company had to pay over 1,500 in costs.
” The aim of these regulations is to make businesses take responsibility for the packaging used in their operations and reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill.“
– Karen Andrews, Environment Agency
Watts, which includes subsidiaries Watts Industrial Polymers plc, Watts Industrial Tyres plc and Plysolene plc, failed to register its obligation to recover packaging waste from the year 2000 until 2003, and then registered late in 2004 (after the April 7 deadline).
The company had said in its defence that it had not realised that wooden pallets were included as obligated packaging.
Regulations
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, companies involved in the packaging supply chain that are large enough to be above the legal threshold must pay for their share of UK packaging recovery and recycling.
These companies carry out their obligation by registering with an environment agency and purchasing sufficient packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) from accredited packaging waste reprocessors to demonstrate they have paid for enough recovery to meet their obligation.
Speaking after the case, Karen Andrews, an Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation, said: “The aim of these regulations is to make businesses take responsibility for the packaging used in their operations and reduce the amount of packaging waste going to landfill. Packaging represents a significant waste stream of more than 10 million tonnes per year in this country.
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“Since the introduction of these regulations, the amount of packaging recovered and recycled has increased from approximately 30% in 1997 to 55% in 2004.”
The Watts Group had been aware of the Packaging Waste Regulations since 1999, the court heard, but a mistake in interpreting the regulations at the time had led the company to believe it had no obligation.
In 2004, the Group learned it should have registered as an obligated packaging producer while attempting to gain accreditation to the ISO 14001 environmental management standard.
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