Environment Agency makes three arrests over illegal Brazilian waste ship

The Environment Agency has arrested three men in connection with the alleged illegal shipment of waste from the UK to Brazil.

The men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were arrested following dawn raids at three properties in the Swindon area yesterday morning. A spokesman for the Environment Agency said they have now all been released on police bail.

The arrests were made as part of an ongoing investigation into shipping containers that were seized by officials at the port of Santos near Sao Paulo and which are believed to contain landfill waste that had been illegally shipped from the UK port of Felixstowe.

The Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Resources has said that at least two of the 99 impounded containers have a mixture of household and clinical waste, including used syringes.

Under the international Basel Convention it is illegal to ship landfill and hazardous waste across country borders. Firms are permitted to ship waste material for recycling in other countries – however, green groups have long complained that some companies use recyclable waste as a cover to illegally ship landfill waste to developing countries.

The Environment Agency said it could not yet confirm what waste had been found in the containers, but said that the waste would be shipped back to the UK for safe disposal once the containers have been released by the Brazilian authorities.

A spokesman for the Agency said that those found guilty of exporting waste illegally could face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.

Liz Parkes, head of waste and resource management at the Environment Agency, said that the swift progress of the investigation underlined the seriousness with which the Agency regarded any breach of waste regulations.

"The Environment 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," she warned, adding that the Agency was now committed to ensuring the waste was disposed of safely.

"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 the Brazilian authorities and returned to the UK," she said.

However, the developments have failed to appease the Brazilian government, which yesterday said that it plans to lodge a formal complaint with the World Trade Organisation over the alleged export of illegal waste from the UK.