BRASILIA, BRAZIL-A firm from the United Kingdom has been ordered to pay 85,000 pounds over an illegal export of waste from Britain to Brazil in 2009.
The director of Edwards Waste Paper, Simon Edwards, and former Sales Manager Jonathan Coombe admitted responsibility for the presence of multiple containers loaded at their site in Barking, East London. Both will be forced to pay the costs, and Coombe received a conditional discharge.
A father and son within the company were also charged after they admitted to helping transport the waste.
The UK allegedly dumped 89 containers of unwanted contaminated materials on the shores of Brazil. 1,500 tons of waste were found on the shore, and contained ‘mixed plastics’ of nappies, needles, and medical equipment, worth an upwards of 60,000 pounds. The shipment was sent back to the UK and examined by the Environment Agency (EA).
It has been rumored that the material had been shipped to Brazil by three companies who wished to avoid the expense of sorting and cleaning the waste products in Britain.
While it is legal to export plastics for recycling in some countries, it is illegal to export waste. The judge, one Richard Hone, stated that the case was “a significant and serious matter.”
Source: BBC
Image: BBC
7 March 2013
09:45am PDT