BREACHING packaging regulations has landed a fruit and nut firm in a pickle.

Besana UK Limited, of Rissington Business Park, Bourton-on-the-Water, was fined £14,500 at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court this week.

The prosecution was brought because it failed to comply with packaging waste regulations.

As well as the fine the court awarded £8,354 to the Environment Agency in compensation for unpaid registration fees, as well as costs of £2,778.

The firm had admitted failing to register with the Environment Agency as a producer of packaging waste, and for failing to meet its requirements to recover and recycle packaging waste between 1997 and 2006. Italian-owned Besana imports nuts and dried fruits into the UK for the retail market.

The nature of its business means that Besana handles mainly paper and plastics.

Under the regulations businesses with an annual turnover greater than £2m and which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging must be registered with the Environment Agency or a recognised compliance scheme.

The regulations are designed to make companies assess the amount of packaging they handle and, where possible, limit it.

For the packaging remaining, companies are expected to invest in the recycling industry by purchasing packaging recovery notes.

An estimate showed that the company had avoided costs of £19,725.98 by not registering and purchasing the correct amount of packaging recovery notes.

Sue Gebbels, the investigating officer for the Environment Agency said: “These regulations were introduced in 1997 and it is disappointing that there are still a number of companies who are not compliant.

“The money raised from compliance with this legislation goes directly to the recycling industry and failure by this company to ensure it meets its responsibilities means that there was less investment in the recycling industry than there should have been.

“There is information available to businesses to ensure it meets its environmental responsibility and it is important that companies take this responsibility seriously to stop the tonnes of packaging ending up in the UK’s limited landfill sites.”