Budweiser Budvar UK has been fined £414,000 by the Environment Agency after it failed to register as a producer of packaging for 18 years.
The Bristol-based beer importer contributed £414,000 to national environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy for use in their Great British Spring Clean campaign as part of a reactive Enforcement Undertaking.
A reactive Enforcement Undertaking is a legal agreement between the Environment Agency and an offender as an alternative to prosecution or other monetary penalty.
Budweiser Budvar UK should have registered in 2004 under regulations on packaging waste and took steps to ensure the waste was recovered and recycled.
The beer importer claimed it was unaware of the regulations until they came under investigation, the Environment Agency said.
The £414,000 payment was agreed by adding the amount of money Budweiser Budvar saved by not recycling or recovering packaging waste, a 30% penalty, and the Environment Agency’s costs.
Budweiser Budvar UK Ltd is now fully compliant with the Packaging Regulations and has put processes in place to ensure continued compliance in the future.
The Environment Agency’s Jake Richardson said enforcement undertakings can allow a better resolution for the environment than a prosecution and help offenders who are prepared to take responsibility for their actions to “put things right” voluntarily.
Richardson said: “The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations ensure that businesses such as Budweiser Budvar UK Ltd contribute towards the cost of recycling the packaging that they add to the UK waste stream.
“In this case, we investigated and found they had failed to comply with the regulations and had consequently not paid its rightful share towards the recycling of its packaging.
“When the company realised this, it wanted to do the right thing so it submitted an Enforcement Undertaking offer, which ensured that all avoided recycling costs were donated to a project that will enhance, restore and protect England’s natural environment.
“Budweiser Budvar UK Ltd is now fully compliant with the Packaging Regulations and has put processes in place to ensure continued compliance in the future.”
