The Red Bull Company has been fined a record £261,278 for breaching waste packaging regulations over an eight-year period, between 1999 and 2006. The fine surpasses the previous record for non-compliance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations, which was handed down to Western Wines in January 2008. The Telford-based wine importer was fined £225,000, which was then double the previous highest fine (www.lexisurl.com/EiB580).

Red Bull pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to 16 charges under the waste packaging regime. The company discovered its own non-compliance and alerted the Environment Agency (EA), and cooperated with the agency’s investigation, attending an interview under caution on 12 March 2008. It admitted failing to register and acknowledged that both the amount of packaging it handled and its turnover were enough to bring it within the scope of the Regulations. Under the Regulations, businesses with an annual turnover of at least £2 million and which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year must register with the EA or a compliance scheme and provide evidence that they have complied with the recovery and recycling obligations.

“While it is encouraging that the Red Bull Company came to us when they realised their mistake, it is disappointing that there are still companies that are not compliant with this important legislation more than a decade after it was passed,” commented EA officer Helen Pavlou. “Money raised from compliance is invested in the recycling industry, so failure to comply by the Red Bull Company Ltd and other companies means that there is less investment in the recycling industry than there should be.”

By not registering for eight years, it is estimated that Red Bull saved more than £180,000. As well as fining Red Bull a record sum, the court also ordered it to pay costs of £3,755 to the EA.