Cobra Falls Foul Of Environmental Regs

Cobra Beer , the drinks importer and distributor, today admitted it had failed to recover and recycle its packaging waste effectively between 2003-2005 and was fined £28,500.

Although it’s with no relish that we report businesses failing to comply with environmental legislation, there is something oddly reassuring when even a well run, entrepreneurial beacon like Cobra beers gets it wrong.  It’s also an example of how even larger companies sometimes struggle to keep the right side of the law as the red tape burden appears to become heavier and heavier.

The particular piece of legislation that hit Cobra was the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations.  These regulations call for all businesses with an annual turnover in excess of £2 million that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year, to be registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme, which undertakes to fulfil the obligations of its members.

Further details of the scheme and packaging waste requirements can be found on the Environment Agency website.