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

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.“

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