Environmental campaigner criticises Government

MP and environmental campaigner, Jo Swinson, has criticised the Government for failing to advise companies of required duties under packaging waste regulations.

The Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, said it was hard for businesses to comply with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations if they did not now about them, adding that Red Bull's recent record fine of £270,000 for breaking the rules earlier this year indicated a large number of firms were not aware of the regulations.

"The Government simply must do more to make companies aware of packaging laws, or we will continue to see cases where companies do not recycle enough because they don't know it is a legal requirement," she said.  "If big, high-profile companies had no idea, how many other businesses must be unaware of their legal obligations?"

After pleading guilty to not meeting its obligations, Red Bull told the Environment Agency (EA) when it realised it had not recovered and recycled packaging waste over an eight-year period, saving an estimated £180,000 by not registering with a compliance scheme.

All businesses with an annual turnover of more than £2m and which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year must be registered with the EA or a recognised compliance scheme under the Producer Responsibility Regulations.

 

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