Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Milliken expands presence in recycling markets with Zebra-chem deal
      ExxonMobil joins Agilyx feedstock partnership
      Lidl
      PreZero pushing forward towards a circular value chain
      Wikipedia Foam Takeout-main_i.jpg
      Virginia lawmakers reach 'great polystyrene compromise,' pass EPS ban, chemical recycling law
    • Circa Group successfully completes NOK 575 million private placement
      Arburg publishes its first Sustainability Report online
      Wikipedia Foam Takeout-main_i.jpg
      Virginia lawmakers reach 'great polystyrene compromise,' pass EPS ban, chemical recycling law
      Natural household product supplier Aunt Fannie’s now certified plastic neutral
    • Bio-Fed and Febo S.p.A. expand distribution agreement
      RenCom launches production of new lignin-based biomaterial
      SP Group, Nurel Biopolymers develop food-contact approved compostable barrier film structures
      SoluBlue’s seaweed-based polymer packaging wins Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • PHA: As green as it gets
      Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
      A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 26, 2019 01:03 PM

UK finds waste giant Biffa guilty of exporting banned waste

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Biffa

    Biffa Waste Services Ltd., one of the UK’s largest waste management companies, has been convicted of breaking the law on overseas exports.

    The Environment Agency prosecuted Biffa for sending household waste, such as used nappies and food packaging, to China, claiming it was waste paper.

    The export of unsorted household recycling waste from the UK to China has been banned since 2006.

    After a three-week trial, a jury at Wood Green Crown court found Biffa guilty of two breaches of the law in May and June 2015. 

    Paper can legally be sent to the People’s Republic, but heavily contaminated other wastes are not allowed.

    The jury didn’t accept Biffa’s version of events, that consignments leaving its depot in Edmonton four years ago complied with the law because they comprised of waste paper.

    According to a 24 June statement by the Environment Agency, evidence gathered by investigators at Felixstowe port, east of England, “clearly identified the contents of seven 25-tonne containers bound for China as including glass, plastics, electrical items and metal.”

    Officers who searched the cargo “found everything from women’s underwear and plastic bottles to metal pipes and even a damaged copy of a 12-inch record by 90s chart-toppers Deee-Lite,” the Environment Agency added.

    The seven containers were stopped by the Environment Agency from leaving the country.

    “The regulations around shipment of waste were brought in to stop the West merely passing the problem to other countries,” said Sarah Mills, an enforcement manager whose team investigated the breaches for the Environment Agency.

    Judge Simon Auerbach deferred sentencing until 27 Sept. The court was told the Environment Agency and Biffa had agreed a figure of £9,912 (€11,070) to be paid for proceeds of crime.
     

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry are coming soon.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
     

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia