A former company director from Solihull has been fined £11,200 for sending illegal plastic waste to Indonesia.
Tianyong Wang from Welcombe Grove, Solihull was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs by Kidderminster Magistrates Court.
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in April for causing his dissolved company Berry Polymer Limited to export the waste to Indonesia.
Shipping documents had described the material as plastic when 382 tonnes of waste in 22 containers had been sent from a site in Droitwich via the ports of Felixstowe and Southampton to Indonesia.
But upon inspection by Environment Agency officials, 1,590 nappies were found, plus 1,338 electrical items and 33,639 tins/cans.
Other contaminants included numerous items of clothing, textiles and rags, unopened plastic bags, glass, wood, golf balls, toys, a used toilet brush and contaminated food and drinks cartons.
But the inspections recorded flies and a rotting decomposing smell in some containers. One bale was so bad it made the inspector physically sick.
The containers were therefore deemed unsuitable for export.
Howard McCann, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that Mr Wang was the sole director of Berry Polymer Limited and the company had been dissolved on 24 August 2021.
Mr Wang had agreed to sell 500 tonnes of plastic bottles to a broker for £270 per tonne.
When interviewed, Mr Wang, who was abroad at the time of the incident, said the material supplied was not as described because his company’s usual bale inspection had either not happened or was sub-standard.
District Judge Strongman on sentencing said this was a “blunder” that had cost Mr Wang his business and his reputation.
Environment Agency senior investigating officer Sham Singh said: “This prosecution sends out a strong message that we will investigate and where necessary prosecute anyone found to be involved in illegally exporting waste.
“Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact and puts communities at risk. It undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that goes with it.
“We support legitimate businesses and are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the illegal waste exports.”
