Roydon Resource Recovery, and a director named Wilfred Sumner, have been convicted of illegally exporting waste in a prosecution by the Environment Agency (EA).
The company, based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to pay nearly £870,000, including £811,181 in proceeds of crime. Sumner was also ordered to pay £10,000.
They were prosecuted after 10 shipping containers containing 247 tonnes of refuse were unlawfully exported to Poland under the guise of the ‘green list’ process, the EA said.
Although it was claimed the shipment comprised clean plastics sorted from household waste, it proved to contain mainly plastics unsuitable for recycling and heavily contaminated with electrical items, nappies, oil canisters and other items.
The waste was destined to be incinerated as fuel, with no intention of it being recycled. Roydon, “gained significant financial advantage through these actions”, the EA said.
Emma Viner, EA enforcement and investigations manager said: “The agency welcomes the outcome of this prosecution. Roydon Resource Recovery and Wilfred Sumner showed a disregard for legislation in place to protect our environment and communities.”
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