A British man has been jailed for illegally exporting 46 tonnes of hazardous electrical waste to African countries.
According to the UK Environment Agency, Joe Benson was given a 16 month prison sentence after being found guilty of exporting electrical waste to Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and the Congo. Between September 2012 and April 2013 Environment Agency investigators intercepted four containers containing broken cathode ray tube televisions and ozone depleting fridge freezers. Benson was previously convicted of exporting similar hazardous electrical waste to Nigeria in 2011 during one of the Environment Agency’s biggest export cases, Operation Boron. However he continued to illegally export televisions and freezers to West Africa while appealing, unsuccessfully, against his previous convictions. It is believed that Benson stood to make roughly £32 000 (approx. R576 000) from the export of the intercepted containers. He collected the electrical waste from civic amenity sites in London and the Home Counties and took it to his licensed waste site in Walthamstow where it should have been tested for functionality and safety before being exported. He made money by collecting the waste and selling it on at about £8 000 (approx. R144 000) a container as well as avoiding the costs incurred in dealing with the waste safely. According to the UK Environment Agency, it is illegal to send hazardous electronic waste from the UK to developing countries where it could be dumped and burnt to extract precious metals, posing serious risks to people’s health and damage to the environment. Environment Agency prosecutors showed that Benson’s containers gave the impression that relevant guidelines were being met. However independent testing showed this was not the case and that the exports were illegal. “These are not victimless crimes. The rules governing the exportation of waste electrical equipment are in place for good reason, to protect human life and the environment. It is illegal to send hazardous waste to these countries. Mr Benson has seen fit to flaunt the rules for his own personal benefit,” said Andrew Higham, leader of the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Team.
While sentencing Judge Dawson said, “In my view this is a serious offence that you have committed before. The public and the world need protecting from this sort of offence.” Benson entered a guilty plea at an earlier hearing.
This sentence is a landmark ruling because it’s the first time anyone has been sent to prison for illegal waste exports as a result of the Environment Agency’s investigations.
