Article: Take it back

Tuesday August 11, 2009

Foul play: Brazilian environmental officers inspecting some of the 41 containers coming from Britain which contain 1,600 tonnes of household waste imported into the country labelled as recyclable plastic.

A SHIP loaded with 1,600 tonnes of rubbish set sail last Wednesday to return the rotting cargo to Britain from Brazil, where it had been shipped falsely declared as plastic for recycling.

Eighty-nine containers packed with trash that includes dirty diapers, used syringes, food waste and computer parts were hoisted on to the freighter MSC Oriane at Santos, South America's largest port.

The incident outraged many Brazilians and prompted President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to criticise Britain and developed nations for urging higher environmental standards while using developing nations as garbage dumps.

Criminal investigations are under way in Britain and Brazil to discover how the waste came to be shipped this year and last to Santos and another port further south. Brazil has fined firms that imported or handled the waste.

The importing firms said they had been expecting shipments of recyclable plastic. But even the company that alerted the authorities to the trash was fined because it had no licence to recycle, said Ingrid Oberg, head of the Brazilian environment enforcement agency.

Brazilian law prohibits the import of household waste for any purpose, including recycling.

British police arrested three men in late July but no formal charges have been brought against them and they have been released on bail after surrendering their passports. – Reuters

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 11 August 2009