Food importer hit with 8.5k fine for breaching waste regulations

Nottingham Magistrates Court fined the firm £3,000 and ordered it to pay £2,304 and £3,092.82 in compensation and costs, respectively. There was also a £15 victim charge.

Asiana had avoided an estimated £4,575 in costs for failing to comply during the three-year period but said it had since taken a full review of internal processes. “We are confident that measures are now in place to more than fulfil our obligations,” managing director Sam Sangha said in a statement.

“Asiana is a responsible supplier and retailer, and the whole team is committed to ensuring that this remains the case,” he said.

Environment Agency officer Hannah Woolridge said all companies “must make themselves aware of the environmental legislation that may affect them” and pointed to the EA website as a source of information on regulatory duties and legislation.

“We have launched an environmental toolkit on our website focused on the food and drink industry, which may assist manufacturers, food importers and suppliers to remain on the right side of the law and benefit from the resource efficiency savings that can come with operating an environmentally aware business,” she said.

Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations Regulations, companies who have an annual turnover in excess of £2 million and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year must register with the Environment Agency or a recycling compliance scheme.

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