Nottingham steel work company’s negligence leads to charity donation
After Environment Agency action, Fabriweld Tubular Steel Products has paid £15,300 to Notts Wildlife Trust for failing to meet packaging recycling obligations.
Sheep grazing on Rainworth Heath, August 2019
Image credit: Agnes Kieme
The financial contribution is part of an enforcement undertaking (EU) offered to the Environment Agency for Fabriweld’s failure to register with the Environment Agency as well as avoiding Packaging Recovery Note costs.
The company accepted it had failed to comply with the regulations for registration between 2001 and 2016, avoiding over £15,000 in costs.
Company officials said they were unaware they had to register under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 and 2007.
These regulations ensure packaging materials such as cardboard, plastics and glass are recycled and do not end up in landfill. Companies with a turnover of £2 million or more and which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging per year must ensure a certain percentage is recycled.
They do this by registering with a packaging scheme or directly with the Environment Agency and provide evidence its packaging waste has been dealt with correctly.
Amy Currie, who led the investigation for the Environment Agency said:
Enforcement Undertakings allow packaging waste producers to comply with the law and make amends by contributing to environmental projects and improvements.
The Environment Agency is increasingly using this method of enforcement for cases of less serious offending to restore or enhance the environment, improve practices of the offending business and ensure future compliance with environmental requirements. However, we will continue to pursue prosecution for the most serious cases.
The payment of £15,300 will be donated to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to restore and improve heathland habitat for birds and habitat of national conservation at the Rainworth Heath nature reserve.
Emily Patrick from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said:
The funding resulting from the Enforcement Undertaking has boosted our efforts to protect and restore traditional heathland habitats at Rainworth Heath Nature Reserve in the heart of Sherwood Forest.
Rainworth Heath is one of the last remaining fragments of lowland heathland in the county and provides habitat for key species such as the nightjar, turtle dove and common lizard. We’ve been able to continue conservation grazing to control bracken and scrub and to promote heather growth and we’re delighted that nightjars, which travel from Africa to breed, have been seen and heard on site a number of times this summer.
Businesses producing or using packaging have an obligation to ensure they are compliant with the relevant Producer Responsibility regulations.
Notes for editors
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Fabriweld is a design and manufacturing company which provides steel and aluminium products
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Enforcement Undertakings (EUs) enable firms and individuals who have damaged the environment or operated outside of legislative requirements to offer to complete actions which will address the cause and effect of their offending, including making a payment to an appropriate environmental project.
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EUs can be offered for offences including polluting rivers, breaching permit conditions designed to protect communities, or failing to register and comply with recycling/recovery obligations. The Environment Agency then carefully considers whether the actions offered by the offender are acceptable.
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Environmental incidents should be reported to the Environment Agency’s 24 hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.