Dorset company Muc-Off has paid £7,669 towards a Marine Conservation Society beach cleaning project for failing to recycle sufficient packaging waste at its Poole headquarters.

Muc-Off Ltd, which makes car and bike cleaning products, made the enforcement undertaking offer after the Environment Agency found the company had broken packaging waste regulations.

Tessa Bowering, for the Environment Agency, said:

The Marine Conservation Society is an appropriate recipient of this payment because most of the plastics washed up on beaches comes from packaging.

The money will be used to help fund the society’s Beach Clean Project.

Muc-Off Ltd saved £5,899.72 by failing to register with a packaging recovery scheme for the years 2012-2016 inclusive. The company admitted two offences under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations of 2007 including failing to register and failing to take reasonable steps to recover and recycle waste packaging.

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 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.

Enforcement undertakings are voluntary offers from offenders to address the cause and effect of their offending. If accepted, an enforcement undertaking becomes a legally binding agreement between the Environment Agency and the offender and replaces the need for any other civil or criminal sanction, such as prosecution.