02/03/2006 - Kerbside
recyclable waste from the borough of Boston,
Lincolnshire was found in a container ready
for shipment to India when there was no
permission from the UK or India to ship
it.
Becciss International Plc, of London Road,
Great Chesterford, Essex and its director
Parmir Rai of Norgett's Lane, Melbourn,
near Royston Herts, were yesterday (Thurs)
each fined £3,000 and ordered to pay
£5,000 costs between them by Stevenage
magistrates when they pleaded guilty to
two offences.
Environment Agency officers discovered
the offending shipment during a ports check
at Felixstowe in March 2004. The check was
to identify any illegal exports of waste
contrary to the rules of the Transfrontier
Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994.
The container which was checked had been
declared to HM Customs and Excise as containing
paper and was destined for shipment to Nhava
Sheva, Mumbai, India. But when it was opened
there was a mixture of waste inside and
apart from paper, there was also plastics,
wood, metals and textiles contaminated by
food waste.
A strong smell of waste greeted officers
who opened the container doors and a number
of flies came out of the waste.
On further investigations by the Environment
Agency it was discovered that waste recycling
company Jackdaw Recycling Ltd of Bowmans
Business Park, Addlethorpe, Skegness had
lawfully arranged to collect mixed recyclable
waste from a kerbside collection scheme
arranged by Boston Borough Council, Lincs
to pass to waste brokers Materials Recovery
Ltd based in Kingswood, Buckinghamshire.
Materials Recovery bought the waste on
behalf of Parmir Rai and Beccis International,
who had expressed an interest in buying
‘co-mingled’ waste for export.
‘Co-mingled’ waste and municipal wastes
are subject to regulations stating that
permission for their export needs to be
obtained from both the UK and destination
country authorities. No permissions had
been given.
From Boston Borough Council to Becciss,
the waste was described on paper as being
‘co-mingled’, a type of waste that Rai said
he had exported in the past to India.
Jackdaw Recycling described the ‘co-mingled’
waste which left Boston to go to Materials
Recovery as ‘consisting of newspaper, magazines,
plastics including plastic bottles, cans,
cardboard and textiles’.
In fact they took photographs of each container
as it was being loaded to show that the
right material had been loaded and the material
was classed as ‘co-mingled’.
Four containers were collected from Jackdaw
Recycling in Skegness by agents for Rai
and Becciss International and three of them
were shipped to Nhava Sheva, India from
Felixstowe. Paperwork from the agent and
from the shipping company refer to the waste
as ‘waste paper – unsorted mixed waste’.
Rai told Environment Agency investigating
officers that he believed that what he was
sending to India was mostly paper with the
odd amount of textiles included. The Environment
Agency did not accept that he was justified
in thinking that.
He said his client in India was expecting
to receive ‘co-mingled’ waste and that they
would separate the contents and recycle
them.
The Environment Agency said the offences
amounted to a ‘deliberate or reckless breach
of the law rather than a carelessness.’
‘The defendants appear to have exported
waste to India without any confirmation
that the waste will be processed in an environmentally
sound manner.’
By not following the rules and getting
the right permissions for the export, Rai
and Becciss had saved £1,360 fees.
Rai admitted being involved with another
company in 2003 which had been approached
by Irish and Dutch Environmental Protection
Authorities about waste being wrongly categorised
when being sent abroad from Ireland.
After the hearing special enforcement officer
for the Environment Agency Abbie Pell said:
‘Whilst the Agency supports and encourages
recycling if this is done correctly, this
case shows that we will not tolerate the
illegal export of waste to sites or countries
where no checks have been made to ensure
the waste is managed in an environmentally
sound manner.’
Parmir Rai pleaded guilty to:
1. Between 4 March 2004 and 12 March 2004
you, being a director of Becciss International
Ltd did contravene Articles 17, 15 and 26
of the Waste Shipments Regulation (EEC No
259/93) by virtue of Regulations 13(1) of
the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations
1994, in that Becciss International Ltd
effected an illegal shipment of mixed municipal
waste from a site at Bowmans Business Park,
Addlethorpe, Skegness Lincolnshire to Nhava
Sheva, Mumbai, India, without prior notification
to all competent authorities concerned due
to neglect on your part,whereby you are
guilty of an offence under Regulation 21(1)
Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations
1994 and liable to a penalty under 15(1)
of the said Regulations. Fined £1,500.
2. Between 4 March 2004 and 12 March 2004
you, being a director of Becciss International
Ltd did contravene Article 27 of the Waste
Shipments Regulation (EEC No 259/93) by
virtue of Regulations 13(1) of the Transfrontier
Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994, in that
Becciss International Ltd effected an illegal
shipment of mixed municipal waste out of
the United Kingdom to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai,
India, without having obtained a certificate
of satisfaction from the Environment Agency
in respect of any financial guarantee or
equivalent insurance in respect of the said
waste due to negelct on your part,whereby
you are guilty of an offence under Regulation
12(4) Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations
1994 and liable to a penalty under 15(1)
of the said Regulations. Fined £1,500.
Becciss International Ltd pleaded guilty
to:
1. Between 4 March 2004 and 12 March 2004
from a site at Bowmans Business Park, Addlethorpe,
Skegness Lincolnshire, Becciss International
Ltd effected an illegal shipment of mixed
municipal waste to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai,
India, without prior notification to all
competent authorities concerned as required
by Articles 17 and 15 of the Waste Shipments
Regulation (EEC No259/93)
Contrary to Articles 17(8), 15(7) and 26(1)(b)
Waste Shipments Regulation (EEC No 259/93)
and Regulations 12(1) and 15(1) Transfrontier
Shipment of Waste Regulations 1994. Fined
£1,500.
2. Between 4 March 2004 and 12 March 2004
from a site at Bowmans Business Park, Addlethorpe,
Skegness Lincolnshire, Becciss International
Ltd effected an illegal shipment of mixed
municipal waste to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai,
India, without having obtained a Certificate
of Satisfaction from the Environment Agency
in respect of any financial guarantee or
equivalent insurance in respect of the said
waste which satisfied the requirements of
Article 27 of the Waste Shipments Regulation
(EEC No259/93)
Contrary to Article 27 Waste Shipments Regulation
(EEC No 259/93) and Regulations 7(1) and
12(4) and 15(1) Transfrontier Shipment of
Waste Regulations 1994. Fined £1,500.
Notes to Editors: The ports check was part
of a European Network for the Implementation
and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL)
Seaports Project at Felixstowe.
