The infringement of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 by Bauder Ltd, of Landseer Road, Ipswich, self-reported to the Environment Agency in November 2015 and investigations were undertaken.

Environment Agency officers found that Bauder had committed the offences of failing to register under 40(1)(a) and failing to take reasonable steps to recover and recycle packaging waste under 40(1)(b) over a 16 year period. Having taken into account the circumstances of the case, in particular the company’s lack of previous convictions, the Environment Agency decided that in this instance it would be appropriate to deal with the matter by way of an Enforcement Undertaking.

Nikki Collins, senior technical officer for the Environment Agency, said:

Enforcement undertakings allow those who commit offences to stop offending, come into compliance and to take steps to prevent a recurrence.

When appropriate, they allow a quicker resolution than a prosecution and help offenders who are prepared to take responsibility for their actions to put things right voluntarily, in a way that directly benefits the environment and local communities.

Bauder Ltd, of Landseer Road, Ipswich, offered to contribute £10,000 to Suffolk Wildlife Trust for use in its work to restore 1,000 acres of reserve land at Carlton Marshes on the fens and £9,377.42 to Buglife, a charity working to protect wildflower-rich meadow and grassland creation in the East of England.

Julian Roughton, chief executive of Suffolk Wildlife Trust, said the creation of a destination reserve at Carlton Marshes had benefits beyond wildlife.

“The restoration of this special corner of East Anglia will bring rich rewards not just for Suffolk’s wildlife but also for the local economy. The 1,000 acres of reedbed, fen and wetland scrapes will support some of East Anglia’s iconic species such as fen raft spider, marsh harrier, bittern and crane.”

Paul Hetherington, director of fundraising and communications at Buglife, said the money had ‘plugged the remaining funding’ gap in its Urban Buzz project.

He said:

In total 944 sites covering more than 325 hectares of pollinator-friendly habitat were completed with just under 12,000 volunteers positively engaged in the work. Without this vital contribution almost 10% of this work would have gone unfinished.

The EU was offered in relation to an offence under Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007