UK firm admits illegal waste exports to Brazil
A UK company has admitted illegally exporting non-recyclable household waste to Brazil.
Edwards Waste Paper, of Barking, east London, pleaded guilty at London's Old Bailey court to transporting waste against OECD regulations.
Director Simon Edwards, 46, of Loughton, and Jonathan Coombe, 41, of Romford, admitted similar counts.
They were remanded on bail until sentencing. Two other men pleaded not guilty and will face trial in October.
Julio Da Costa, 51, and Juliano Da Costa, 27, of Swindon, Wiltshire, are alleged to have arranged the shipment. They ran two companies that are now in liquidation.
In July 2009, Brazil accused the UK of dumping unwanted contaminated waste on its shores after 89 containers containing 15,000 tonnes of waste were found on a quay side.
The containers were sent back for inspection by the Environment Agency.
Waste can be sent abroad for recycling, but not for disposal.
The maximum penalty for exporting waste illegally is an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.