Komori hit with 20k packaging waste fine

Komori pleaded guilty to eight offences, relating to a period between 2004 and 2007, and asked for a further four to be taken into consideration.

Leeds Magistrates Court yesterday (23 February) fined the firm £16,000 and ordered it to pay £3,254 in compensation for unpaid fees. There was also full prosecution costs of £946.07 and a victim surcharge of £15.

Environment Agency prosecutor Trevor Cooper said the firm’s explanation for failing to comply with the regulations was that it had been “unaware” of their existence and registered as soon as it became aware in 2008.

Magistrates said “ignorance was no defence” but gave credit to Komori for an early guilty plea and accepted its mitigation that it had fully co-operated with the Environment Agency’s investigation.

Komori UK was unavailable for comment when contacted by Packaging News.

The court heard that the company had not kept adequate records of packaging waste handled between 1997 and 2002, but that it had no previous environmental convictions and a responsible attitude towards the environment, being keen to recycle and reduce its carbon footprint.

It had registered with the EA prior to the offences being discovered and had not deliberately or intentionally failed to comply with the regulations or sought to save money by doing so.

The Environment Agency has been criticised on a number of occasions for not doing enough to publicise the packaging waste legislation. For more on this issue, see the March issue of Packaging News magazine.

Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations firms firms with a turnover that exceeds £2m a year and that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging must register with the EA or compliance scheme to provide evidence of payment for packaging recovery.

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