Tech firm's recycling blunder pays for mass tree-planting

2nd October 2020


Web p10 11 tree istock 1057054826

Related Topics

Related tags

  • Legislation ,
  • Pollution & Waste Management ,
  • Recycling

Author

Paul Crabtree

A computer support company in Brentford that broke recycling law has paid money to charity to help fund several thousand new trees in Ilford, London.

EMC Computer Systems (UK) Ltd failed to register the packaging waste it produced between 2002 and 2003, and from 2008 to 2015. Companies with a turnover above £2m, handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging in the previous calendar year, must register with an accredited compliance scheme and recover and recycle packaging waste.

EMC paid £8,579.31 to Trees for Cities, which works to improve lives by planting trees in cities.

The Environment Agency dealt with EMC's failure to comply with the law through a civil sanction called an enforcement undertaking, instead of prosecution. To qualify, offenders must improve practices to avoid similar breaches, while also making a financial contribution to a relevant project.

Rory Field, corporate partnerships director for Trees for Cities, said: “This money contributed to the creation of a new woodland at Goodmayes Park in Ilford, where more than 500 members of the local community came out to help plant the trees. Urban tree-planting is a great way to benefit the environment and the community.“

Image credit: iStock

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Scotland to scrap its 2030 climate target

The Scottish government has today conceded that its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 is now “out of reach” following analysis by the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

18th April 2024

Read more

While there is no silver bullet for tackling climate change and social injustice, there is one controversial solution: the abolition of the super-rich. Chris Seekings explains more

4th April 2024

Read more

Alex Veitch from the British Chambers of Commerce and IEMA’s Ben Goodwin discuss with Chris Seekings how to unlock the potential of UK businesses

4th April 2024

Read more

Five of the latest books on the environment and sustainability

3rd April 2024

Read more

The UK’s major cities lag well behind their European counterparts in terms of public transport use. Linking development to transport routes might be the answer, argues Huw Morris

3rd April 2024

Read more

Ben Goodwin reflects on policy, practice and advocacy over the past year

2nd April 2024

Read more

A hangover from EU legislation, requirements on the need for consideration of nutrient neutrality for developments on many protected sites in England were nearly removed from the planning system in 2023.

2nd April 2024

Read more

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close