Drinks importer the Red Bull Company Limited has been handed a record fine of £261,278 for packaging waste offences. The London-based company pleaded guilty this month at Southwark Crown Court to a total of 16 charges, of failing to register with the Environment Agency as a producer of packaging waste and of failing to meet its requirements to recycle packaging waste for eight years between 1999 and 2006.
Alongside its fine, the company was also ordered to pay £3,755 in costs to the Agency and £6,854 for unpaid registration fees for the years in question. The fine overtakes the previous highest of £225,000 which was imposed in January 2009 on Telford-based Western Wines, after the company also failed to register as a producer of packaging waste.
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations SI 2007/871, businesses which have an annual turnover in excess of £2 million and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year, must be registered with the Agency or a compliance scheme. Each year, obligated businesses must also provide evidence of payment for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.
Red Bull approached the Agency on 8 July 2007 to say it was not registered with them or a compliance scheme. The company then co-operated and attended an interview under caution on 12 March 2008 where it admitted its turnover and packaging handled was more than the threshold limits allowed by the regulations. By not registering it was estimated that Red Bull made a saving of more than £180,000.
Agency officer Helen Pavlou said, "While it is encouraging that the Red Bull Company came to us when they realised their mistake, it is disappointing that there are still companies that are not compliant with this important legislation more than a decade after it was passed. Money raised from compliance is invested in the recycling industry, so failure to comply by Red Bull and other companies means there is less invested than there should be."
