MV Recycling (UK) was sentenced at Preston Magistrates’ Court on 5 May 2026 after admitting offences connected to illegal waste exports during 2019.
The company was ordered to pay a total of £30,400 following an Environment Agency (EA) prosecution.
According to the EA, the offences related to attempts to export contaminated plastic, including sanitary products and nappies, as well as electrical items such as wiring and circuit boards.
The court heard that MV Recycling had entered into agreements with companies in Turkey and sourced waste material from businesses in the UK before arranging shipments through Felixstowe port.
The first offence took place in March 2019, when 11 shipping containers loaded at a recycling facility in Kent were stopped at Felixstowe following inspections by the EA.
Officers found the contents did not match the accompanying paperwork and the export was refused.
The EA said the company received guidance and warnings following the incident, but further attempts to export contaminated waste were later identified.
The court was told that MV Recycling had not disclosed the true source of some of the waste, with investigators believing some material originated from France. The prosecution also said the company had misled other parties regarding the intended destination of the waste.
In mitigation, the court heard that MV Recycling and its director had no previous convictions, cautions or reprimands. The EA stated that the company has since changed its business model, relocated premises and remained compliant during subsequent EA inspections, with no evidence of further offending identified.
‘Misleading impression of events’
In response to the EA’s release on the successful prosecution, MV Recycling said the statement represented “a misleading impression of events”.
The company said it accepted responsibility as the exporter and that the contamination arose from waste that had been misdescribed by suppliers.
The company stated: “The wording of the press release suggests intentional misconduct by MV Recycling which is wholly inconsistent with the findings of the court.
“Since the events in question, the company has strengthened its supplier verification processes and has had no further export quality issues, a fact confirmed in the EA’s own reporting.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson responded: “MV Recycling (UK) Ltd is solely responsible for these waste export crimes and pleaded guilty in court to all three charges.”
MV Recycling also criticised the inclusion of director Noormohammed Master’s name in the statement, noting that he was not personally prosecuted.
Its spokesperson added: “MV Recycling requests that the EA review and amend the press release to ensure that it accurately reflects the court’s findings and does not attribute responsibility or implication of wrongdoing beyond what was established.”
The Agency spokesperson responded that the EA had “uncontested evidence” that Master had misled officers during inspections and said EA officers would “continue to work hard to bring waste criminals to justice and stop companies exploiting the system”.
Interesting contradiction with the Biffa prosecutions where they were convicted as the supplier of the waste for export by a broker.