Fitness firm fined for breaching EA packaging regulations

A Milton Keynes-based fitness product firm has been fined for breaching packaging regulations.

RFE International Ltd, which imports and supplies fitness equipment, was visited by the Environment Agency (EA) on a routine audit in 2007. The EA officer discovered that the company had failed to register to join a recycling scheme despite handling large amounts of packaging.

The finance director of the company, Gareth Phillips, said that, in 2006, the firm handled 278 tonnes of packaging, and 341 tonnes in 2007, but was unaware that it had to register for the scheme.

Any firm handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year, with an annual turnover of over £2 million, must register for the EA recycling scheme.

RFE International Ltd pleased guilty to breaching packaging regulations and was fined £15,000 plus £1,670 costs at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court. It was estimated that the firm saved £12,172 by not registering with the scheme.

Prosecutor Anne-Lise McDonald, said, "The aim of the packaging regulations is to achieve a more sustainable approach to dealing with packaging by ensuring businesses take responsibility for the packaging used in their operations.

"This in turn reduces the amount of packaging produced and the amount going to landfill," she added.