Red Bull fined

The Red Bull Company has been ordered to pay a record £271,800 fine after failing to recover and recycle packaging waste.

The London-based soft drinks company pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to charges of failing to register with the Environment Agency as a producer of packaging waste, and charges of failing to meet its requirements to recover and recycle packaging waste with respect to each of the eight years between 1999 and 2006.

The company was fined £261,278 and ordered to pay £3,755 in costs to the Environment Agency. The company was ordered to pay compensation of £6,854 to the Environment Agency for unpaid registration fees for the years 1999 to 2006 inclusive.

This overtakes the previous highest fine of £225,000, which was imposed in January 2008 on a Midlands company that also failed to register as a producer of packaging waste.

Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, businesses that have an annual turnover in excess of a specified amount (£2m since 2000) and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year, must be registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme. Each year, obligated businesses must also provide evidence of payment for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.