Press release: Sanglier Limited agree to pay charity in Enforcement Undertaking

Sanglier Limited, a Kirkby in Ashfield based Company specialising in the manufacture and distribution of adhesives and paints, has paid £37,000 to a charity for not meeting the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007.

The Company paid £37,450 to an environmental charity to compensate for not meeting their obligations under the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations for the years 2005 – 2015.

The company made a pro active Enforcement Undertaking offer after it became aware that it was obligated under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulation 2007. The Environment Agency investigated further and found that the company had failed to register as a producer of packaging, and failed to meet its requirements to recover and recycle packaging waste between 2005 and 2015. The Company registered for the first time in September 2016 with a compliance Scheme after it realised that it was obligated under the regulations.

The Enforcement Undertaking offer included payment to an environmental charity of £37,450 plus payment of the Environment Agency’s costs It has also put in place robust measures to ensure that non-compliance does not happen again.

Joanne Weston, Regulated Industry Officer said:

Sanglier Ltd acknowledged they had failed to comply with the legislation and it is good to see that the costs they avoided by not complying are going directly to a charity for environmental improvement.

In any enforcement undertaking, the person or company’s offer should restore or remediate the harm caused by the incident where possible. For producer responsibility offences this is achieved by making a financial contribution to a recognised environmental charity or project to achieve environmental benefit. The offender must also demonstrate they will change their behaviour and ensure future compliance with environmental legislation.

Sanglier Limited donated £37,450 to the Campaign to Protect Rural England. The donation will be used to fund an initiative designed to motivate and support volunteers across the UK to take action against litter. It was also fund litter picking equipment for use by its volunteers and maintenance costs for the charity’s new website.

In addition to other enforcement tools the Environment Agency can choose to accept an offer of a civil sanction in appropriate cases as an alternative to prosecutions.

Civil sanction include Enforcement Undertakings which can be a cost-effective way for some businesses to mitigate for less serious environmental offences, rectifying the harm caused by way of a financial donation designed to improve the environment. Failure to comply with the enforcement undertaking may result in the person or company being prosecuted for the original offence/s.

Details of Enforcement Undertakings accepted by the Environment Agency can be found on GOV.UK.