The Whitely-based company pleaded guilty to ten offences and was ordered to pay a total of 7,262 by Goole Magistrates' Court on Monday.
The offences concerned five shipments of low density polythene packaging from the UK to India between August and December, 2002. The case marks the Environment Agency's third successful prosecution under the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations, part of an ongoing crack down by the Agency on illegal shipments of waste from the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).
Under the international regulations, the Indian government has chosen to class imports of waste plastic packaging, apart from PET, as a “red list” waste requiring a high level of control. Monoworld failed to obtain the obligatory consent of the Environment Agency and financial guarantees before the shipments were dispatched.
Agency officer Brian Taylor said: “It is not acceptable that a country has ended up dealing with waste that it never wanted to receive in the first place.”
Irresponsible
Monoworld claimed its offences were the result of a misunderstanding over confusing regulations. But the Environment Agency said that on three occasions between June and December 2002 the company was visited by Agency officers and more than five letters were written explaining its paperwork obligations.
Mr Taylor said: “This company chose to flout the law, saving itself plenty of money by doing so. Monoworld’s actions were irresponsible and definitely not in the interests of the environment and I’m glad that the court has chosen to recognise this.”
The five shipments all exported between one and ten containers each weighing 20 tonnes. The company was ordered to pay a 550 fine for each offence of failing to notify the Environment Agency and 100 for each offence of failing to secure a financial guarantee in addition to paying 4,012 costs to the Agency. Monoworld has now lost the contract to recycle this type waste.
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