A judge at the Old Bailey has ordered a paper recycling firm and four men to pay more than 95,000 in fines and costs for illegally exporting 89 containers of contaminated waste to Brazil in 2008 and 2009.
Some of the waste, which was described as mixed plastics for recycling was said to have originated from local authority care homes, and consisted of items such as blood bags, hypodermic needles and used nappies.
At a sentencing hearing today (March 5) at the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court, Judge Hone ordered paper recycling firm Edwards Waste Paper Ltd of Barking to pay costs of 40,000 as well as a fine of 45,000, while its director Simon Edwards was ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 for the shipments which took place between October 2008 and July 2009.
Meanwhile, the companys former sales manager Jonathan Coombes, now unemployed, was ordered to pay costs of 250 and received a two-year conditional discharge. Both Mr Edwards and Mr Coombes pleaded guilty at a hearing in April 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Co-defendants, father and son Julio Da Costa and Juliano Da Costa, who ran the now-defunct plastic export firm Worldwide Biorecyclables Ltd in Swindon were also sentenced, after pleading guilty in February (see letsrecycle.com story). Julio Da Costa, 52, was given a two year conditional discharge, as well as being ordered to pay costs of 500, while his son Juliano was given an 18 month conditional discharge, with costs of 250 to pay.
A fifth defendant, Andre De Oliviera, 32, a former director of Worldwide Biorecyclables is still at large having failed to answer bail in November 2011 and is wanted in connection with the case.
In total, 43 of the 89 containers which were shipped to Santos and Rio Grande do Sul were identified to have been sent to Brazil from the Swindon area by the da Costas while 46 were tracked back to Edwards site in Essex.
Investigation
The prosecution followed a two-year investigation by the Environment Agencys National Enforcement Service, codenamed Operation Mound.
The shipment was rejected by the Brazilian authorities the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the containers were repatriated to the port of Felixstowe in Suffolk.
At todays hearing, Judge Hone heard that some of the waste had been sorted at Edwards Waste Papers Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Barking, where, it was argued, some contamination could be expected.
In mitigation, lawyers for the company pointed to a quality assessment study by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) which suggested that some MRFs produced material with up to 25% contamination, and the level exported by Edwards and Worldwide Biorecyclables was in fact much less.
Checks
However the judge ruled that at the time of the offences none of the appropriate checks on the level of contamination in the waste appeared to have been carried out by either company.
Commenting after the sentences were handed out, Andy Higham, head of the Environment Agencys National Enviromental Crime Team, said: The judge mentioned that the case was a significant international environmental matter, and recognising how serious it at the time we had some of the defendants under arrest within several days.
I hope it sends out a message that we do take this type of crime seriously, and where there is this type of offending we will seek people out and make sure they are brought before the courts. The fact that this has been heard at the Old Bailey suggests just how serious this is.
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