Three charities will share a windfall totalling almost £87,000 from companies that breached waste packaging rules designed to protect the environment.
The Marlow-based IT firm Softcat has pledged £35,803.99 to the National Trust, after it failed to comply with the law for more than a decade.
Alcoholic drinks company Sazerac UK, which is based in Hampton Wick and failed to comply from 2017 to 2019, will hand £45,088.49 to the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Meanwhile, furniture business La-Z-Boy UK, based in Maidenhead, will give £5,736.89 to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, due to non-compliance in 2020.
In a press release, the Environment Agency said the three recognised that they had failed to comply with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, which ensure that businesses fund the recycling of the packaging waste they place on the UK market.
It added: “By failing to register with a compliance scheme and to take reasonable steps to recover and recycle packaging waste, the businesses also avoided paying a charge based on how much packaging they got through in the same period.”
EA senior technical officer Jake Richardson said: “Any company handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year and with a turnover of above £2m must register with the Environment Agency or a packaging compliance scheme and meet their responsibilities for recycling waste packaging.
“If companies fail to meet their obligations under environmental law, we will take action to ensure that they change their ways.”
The EA accepted proactive enforcement undertaking offers from the companies – a civil sanction that allows businesses to make amends and show how they will comply with the law in future.
The companies each agreed to register with a compliance scheme, revise internal processes and assign a responsible person.
Richardson added: “The companies also agreed to take measures to ensure they comply with their packaging waste responsibilities in the future.
“We’re satisfied that they won’t repeat their mistakes.”
La-Z-Boy UK’s money goes to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust’s Moor Copse project, which aims to:
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Maintain the biodiversity of a scarce habitat.
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Increase the number of important grassland species such as yellow rattle, common knapweed, great burnet, orchids and crested dog’s tail on the drier grassland.
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On the wetter parts of the grassland, in hollows and furrows, maintain and increase species such as meadowsweet, water avens, ragged robin and marsh marigold.
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Enhance the visitor experience.
Sazerac UK’s money goes to the Surrey Wildlife Trust’s ‘empowering communities’ project, which aims to:
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Engage, inspire and upskill local community groups to help reverse the decline of pollinator species through creating green corridors and space for nature to move, adapt and thrive.
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Create and restore habitat within key biodiversity areas.
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Support local groups and produce toolkits for communities.
Softcat’s contribution goes to the National Trust’s Langham Pond Boardwalk project in Surrey, which aims to:
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alleviate the impact of visitors on the surrounding landscape through the installation of 60m of boardwalks at key areas.
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Create new access to the wetland, which was previously inaccessible.
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Help maintain the natural flora, fauna and British duckweed which supports populations of some of the UK’s rarest species.
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Enhance the visitor experience.