EA steps in over illegal waste exports to Brazil

The British Embassy in Sao Paulo told letsrecycle.com today (July 17) that it had passed the details of the case to the Agency for further action.

The Agency has said it is seeking to work with the relevant authorities over the case. It is understood to involve 64 containers of waste, totalling 1,400 tonnes of material, entering ports in Santos and the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul between February and May this year.

The material was marked as plastics for recycling and is believed to have been exported from Felixstowe in the south of England and passed through Antwerp in Belgium before being unloaded at the ports in South America.

Local media reports claim that the cargo included: plastic bags, paper, batteries, syringes, chemical toilets, empty cards of drugs, condoms, diapers, cloth and leather, among others. Flies and spiders were also found in containers, it was alleged.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency has sought to contact Brazilian authorities after being alerted to possible illegal waste export from the UK.

“As the competent authority for enforcing Transfrontier Shipping Regulations in England and Wales, the Environment Agency has launched an investigation to ascertain the facts of this case and to determine if an offence has been committed.

“Where the Environment Agency detects or is made aware of the illegal export of waste, it works with all relevant partner authorities to ensure the environmentally sound management of any illegal shipments – including the possible return of wastes to UK,” he added.

Companies

According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, IBAMA – the Brazilian ministry of environment's enforcement agency – has already issued fines of up to R$ 408,000 (£152,000) for five Brazilian companies involved in the export waste but has opted not to name them.

However, a statement released by IBAMA yesterday (July 16) saw the body name two UK companies.

The Brazilian regulator states: “[We are] studying the possibility of applying sanctions to exporting companies UK and Worldwide Biorecyclabes Ltd [and] Multiplas Recycling Ltd, identified so far.”

Companies House data shows the two companies to be Swindon-based. And, local newspaper reports confirm that one of them is an exporter to South America. The company, Worldwide Biorecyclables, appeared in the Swindon Gazette earlier this year appealing for help in the wake of its £9,000 digger being stolen over the Christmas period.

The company said that the theft of the digger, which was used to pick up pallets of plastic before putting them into a baler where they are compressed, had a “massive impact on business” and that it had “to stop plastics coming in and the bales we have cannot be sold to our buyers” and led to the company running three weeks behind schedule.

The Companies House records also show that the two companies are both operated by Juliano Valderamma Da Costa, Julio Cesar Rando Da Costa and Daniel Banca Alves Corticiero – although Mr Corticiero resigned as secretary of UK Multiplas in May this year.

Neither company could be reached for comment.

Reaction

Responding on behalf of the industry, waste trade association the Environmental Services Association (ESA) said it was too early to comment on the matter and that it would react when more information came to light.

The British Embassy in Brazil said earlier today that it would take “immediate steps” through the EA to investigate the claims of UK involvement (see letsrecycle.com story).