North West companies will pay over £68,000 to charities for environmental offences

More than £68,000 will be paid to local North West charities following investigations carried out by the Environment Agency into environmental offences.  

Four companies submitted Enforcement Undertakings to the Environment Agency, which have now been accepted.  

An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary offer made by companies or individuals to make amends for their offending, and usually includes a payment to a charity to carry out environmental improvements in the local area. 

Nigel Glasgow, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency said:  

“All businesses have a duty to ensure that their operations do not pose a risk of harm to people and the environment. When companies fail to meet their environmental obligations, it is a serious issue, and we will take appropriate action.  

“Enforcement undertakings are carefully considered by the Environment Agency and secure improvements in the way a business operates, including how they respond to environmental incidents. They provide an opportunity for companies that have failed to comply with legal requirements or that have caused pollution to proactively remedy the harm done, as well as to prevent future incidents.  

“We strongly encourage all companies to review their responsibilities and ensure they are legally compliant by visiting GOV.UK.” 

Cleansing Service Group Limited (Pictured) will pay a total of £25,000 to The Kindling Trust for breaching their environmental permit at the Lanstar Cadishead site in Manchester.

The breach, which occurred in December 2020, involved the opening of an unidentified package resulting in a minor explosion. This highlighted the company’s inadequate measures to mitigate the risk of pollution. 

Amic Haulage Limited has made a contribution of £2,500 to the Mersey Rivers Trust following an incident in November 2020 where milk was discharged into a tributary of the River Wheelock in Crewe, resulting in pollution of the watercourse.  

Maker Industrial Products Limited has paid £9,530.31 to the Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust for failing to comply with registration requirements from 2017 to 2019. Businesses that introduce significant quantities of packaging into the UK market must register and contribute to the recycling and recovery of packaging waste.

JYSK Limited will pay £31,757.62 to Keep Britain Tidy due to non-compliance with packaging waste regulations between 2010 and 2020. Furthermore, JYSK Limited did not take adequate measures to recover or recycle packaging waste during this period.