The Environment Agency (EA) is facing renewed accusations of failing to communicate the Packaging Waste Regulations to small businesses after two companies were ordered to pay more than £65,000 for non-compliance.

Wine importer the Great Western Wine Company (GWWC) was last week told to pay £35,000 after it pleaded guilty to not paying for PRNs for a period of five years.Meanwhile shoe retailer Brantano (UK) was ordered to pay more than £31,000 for non-compliance with the regulations between 2003 and 2007.

GWWC managing director Philip Addis told Packaging News that the company was considering an appeal against what it saw as unnecessarily punitive costs. The company was liable for around £22,000 in unpaid PRNs, yet, he estimated, would end up with a total bill of around £40,000 relating to the case.

"Our company and others who have been fined like this are totally compliant. I accept that ignorance is no excuse. But a company like ours doesn’t have a legal department and I don’t feel that the EA has done anything to make companies like us aware of our obligations – until they get in touch and you end up with a fine and a court case," he said.

Addis insisted that GWWC, which has turnover of around £8m, had been recycling its used packaging and other waste throughout the period when it was not registered and took its environmental responsibility seriously. The company even has a ‘green team’ dedicated to reducing its environmental impact.

Brantano (UK) declined to comment on its case.

The Packaging Waste Regulations stipulate that all businesses with turnover of more than £2m and that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging in a year must register with a compliance scheme and buy PRNs. GWWC handled 637 tonnes of packaging in 2007.

The Environment Agency has been criticised in the past for not making industry aware of its PRN obligations.

EA press officer Mike Dunning said the regulations had been around for more than a decade and even small companies that deal with packaging should be aware of them.

He told Packaging News: "It is widely accepted packaging can't go to landfill and should be recycled. If companies are unsure about what they should be doing then they should contact us."

Dunning said that while GWWC had been recycling it was not done in accordance with the regulations.

"The cold hard fact of the law is that they had not signed up. It's no good having set up recycling outside the jurisdiction of the regulations," said Dunning. "If it does go to court, then it's down to the magistrate to decide on the size of the penalty."