The Brazilian Government has said it will lodge a formal complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), over the alleged export of illegal waste from the UK. The move comes as three men were arrested as part of an Environment Agency investigation into the export of 99 shipping containers of waste to the South American country.
The complaint will be based on the Basel Convention, which bans shipments of toxic waste from industrialised nations. Officers from the Agency's national crime team raided three properties in Swindon this month as part of their investigations into the origin of 1,400 tonnes of material reportedly found in Brazilian ports. Wiltshire police arrested three men in connection with the waste.
Authorities in the South American country have claimed that at least two of the containers were filled with a mixture of household and clinical waste, including syringes and condoms. The Agency have said they will take back the waste from Brazil and dispose of it correctly, but have not yet confirmed what the containers had in them.
Liz Parkes, head of waste and resource management at the Agency, said the arrests marked significant progress in the investigation. "We are working with the shipping lines for the return of the waste, at their own expense, and are planning to carry out an investigation of the containers once they have been released by Brazilian authorities and returned to the UK. The Agency enforces the export of recyclable waste from England and Wales and will not hesitate to prosecute any company or individuals found to have breached the strict laws on the export of waste."
Currently, waste can be sent abroad for recycling, but not for disposal. The maximum penalty for such a breach of rules is an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.
For more information see:
