English rubbish intercepted on its way to China

07/04/2005 - 16:03:14
Dutch customs officials have intercepted 1.6 tons of English household waste that was illegally loaded onto sea freighters destined for China.

Around 60 cargo containers full of waste have been returned to England in recent weeks after being intercepted in Dutch ports without proper permits.

The unidentified shipping company will be fined, the Dutch Environment Ministry said.

“The export of household trash from England has increased due to higher dumping fees, which followed new recycling policies” in England, the statement said. “It is very probable that the waste would have been dumped unnoticed in China.”

The waste – which had been falsely labelled as paper – was transported to the Netherlands in truck trailers where it was packed onto cargo ships.