UK firm liked to Ghana e-waste dumping

One of the UK's leading waste and recycling companies has been linked to the growing underground trade in e-waste, says The Guardian.

This is after campaigners uncovered evidence that broken television sets deposited at the firm's facilities were exported to Africa in contravention of regulations designed to stem the flow of electronic waste to developing countries.

Merseyside-based Environment Waste Controls, whose clients are reported to include ASDA, Tesco, Barclays, the NHS and Network Rail, has admitted that electronic equipment from its amenity sites in South London ended up in West Africa after being exported by a third-party company and says it has taken steps to prevent this happening in the future.

Campaigners from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) pinpoint the company in a report outlining Britain's role in the global e-waste trade, due to be published next week. The report details the findings of an 18-month investigation into how UK e-waste, much of it toxic, is ending up abroad where it is frequently processed in primitive conditions, posing a threat to the environment and human health.

Equipment Directive has been called into question by a new report from the EIA, which warned that the UK's e-waste continues to end up in West African scrap yards, writes V3.co.uk.

Despite years of high-profile reports on the illegal shipment of non-recyclable electrical goods to countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, the practice is still going strong, according to the campaign group.

The legislation uses a 'polluter pays' principle, whereby IT manufacturers take on the environmental disposal responsibilities, either themselves or by signing up to a compliance scheme offered by one of the government-approved waste-handling firms.

The legislation stipulates that technical waste cannot be exported overseas, but that reusable electrical goods can be exported after undergoing testing.

Waste Management World says over the past three years, the UK's Environment Agency has become more proactive in tackling the problem. Intelligence led enforcement involving collaboration with the police and customs, as well as increased international cooperation with over 40 other countries, has been developed.

According to the undercover report, the trade involves players from every level of the waste food chain, from sole traders, right up to local councils and even central government institutions.