Businesses that fail to comply with recently introduced packaging regulations were given a stark reminder of the legal risks they are facing after it was announced that restaurant chain Carluccio's has been charged for allegedly breaching rules requiring it to attempt to reduce and recycle packaging waste.

Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (packaging waste) Regulations, which were introduced last year, firms that have a turnover of more than £2m and handle 50 tonnes or more of packaging a year are legally required to register with either the Environment Agency or a government approved compliance scheme and undertake efforts to recover and recycle packaging waste.

James Adams, environment management team leader at the Environment Agency, said that Carluccio's PLC has been charged under the "Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations" for failing to register as a producer of packaging waste, failure to supply a certificate of compliance, and failure to take reasonable steps to recover and recycle packaging waste.

The case will now be heard in Horseferry Road Magistrates Court on Wednesday 22 October 2008, with Carluccio's facing the possibility of a fine of £5,000 per offence if found guilty in the magistrates court, or an unlimited fine if the case proceeds to the Crown Court.

Adams said that around 5,500 UK firms were covered by the legislation and should be officially certified as waste producers.

"If a company believes that it meets both of the threshold tests - has a turnover greater than £2 million and handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging waste - and they are not currently registered with either the Environment Agency or a Compliance Scheme, they should go to our website, which contains details on who is obligated, what they need to do to comply with the regulations and how they go about registering," he advised. "If they discover that they are obligated then they should take immediate action to register with either ourselves or a Compliance Scheme."