Environment

Renoir Shoes, the Teeside-based shoe importer, has been fined £10,000 for non-compliance with the Producer Responsibility Obligation (Packaging Waste) Regulations.

The company, which imports women's footwear from Europe, the Far East and Asia, pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates Court to nine offences between 1 January 2004 and 31 January last year.

The Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations require businesses with an annual turnover of more than £2m that handle over 50 tonnes of packaging each year to register with a compliance programme.

Renoir did not register until 11 December last year.

Trevor Cooper, for the Environment Agency, said Renoir should have considered its obligations on an annual basis and by failing to register between 2004 and 2006, the company avoided Packaging Recovery Note costs of £1,100 and registration fees of £2,304.

Magistrates ordered the company to pay compensation to the Environment Agency of £2,304 and costs of £1,857.43.

The magistrates gave credit to Renoir for an early guilty plea and accepted the company had co-operated with the Environment Agency and had no previous environmental offences convictions.

The company was unavailable to comment.