Kingswood-based Materials Recovery Ltd was also told to pay 5,800 in costs in a case involving the export of material from Taunton in Somerset.
The court heard that Materials Recovery had taken over the assets of a company operating at the Norton Fitzwarren depot, but had exported material to India in breach of international trans-frontier shipment regulations.
Environment Agency officers carried out surveillance on the company's activities, and was called by HM Customs to inspect a shipping container seized at Southampton Docks in November 2003. Customs officers had found the container was packed with inappropriate plastics.
The following day Environment Agency officers went to Materials Recovery Ltd on Taunton Trading Estate, where they found plastics similar to those in the container on the docks.
Materials Recovery Limited of Crossways, Bicester Road, Kingswood, Buckinghamshire pleaded guilty to 12 offences and asked Taunton magistrates to take a further 10 offences into consideration. The company was charged with shipping waste to India in circumstances deemed to be illegal traffic under an EU Council Regulation.
Commenting on the case on behalf of the Environment agency, spokesman Andy King said: “We don’t know what was happening to this plastic once it reached India but the export of waste for disposal is strictly prohibited outside the UK. This is to prevent us dumping our waste on developing nations. Materials Recovery Limited breached UK, European and international legislation.”
Crackdown
Although the illegal shipments took place over a five month period between June 11 and November 4, 2003, yesterday's court case comes as the Environment Agency is undertaking a tough crackdown on the export of waste materials.
The export of waste materials, including plastics, is governed by the green, amber and red list system. Although materials like recycled paper can be exported relatively easily under the terms of the “green list”, other materials not on the green list require more stringent controls and if exported under the wrong list are termed illegal.
Exporters have warned that UK recycling is being threatened by the additional Agency scrutiny because of uncertainties concerning contamination in material sorted at material recycling facilities. WRAP – the Waste and Resources Action Programme – has now been brought in to work on quality standards for sorting facilities (see letsrecycle.com story).
- Update: Materials Recovery Ltd have said it “fully accepts” the court ruling, but has added that since the issues arose, it has been in “full compliance” with the export regulations. In a statement to letsrecycle.com, the company said the plastic exports concerned had been destined for recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
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