For the first time, a defendant has received a custodial sentence for illegally exporting waste from the UK.

Joe Benson from Essex has been sentenced to 16-months imprisonment for illegally exporting 46 tonnes of hazardous electrical waste to Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and the Congo.

Benson, who has a series of previous convictions of illegal waste exportation, was sentenced today (20 June) at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Between September 2012 and April 2013, investigators from the Environment Agency (EA) intercepted Benson’s four shipping containers that contained broken cathode ray tube televisions and ozone-depleting fridge freezers.

Waste crime is commonly motivated by economic gain, and the EA revealed that Benson would have been set to receive approximately £32,000 from his illegal activity.

The defendant collected electrical waste from civic amenity sites in London and the home counties before storing it in a licensed waste site in Walthamstow prior to exportation.

The EA highlighted that there is a legitimate market for the exportation and resale of working electronic goods. However, 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 a dangerous risk to people’s health and the environment.

Andrew Higham who leads the EA’s National Environment Crime Team, said: “These are not victimless crimes. The rules governing the exportation of waste electrical equipment are in place for a good reason, to protect human life and the environment.

Director of regulated industry Harvey Bradshaw, added: “This sentence is a landmark ruling because it’s the first time anyone has been sent to prison for illegal waste exports.

“Cracking down on illegal waste exports will continue to be a priority for the Environment Agency. We urge anyone in the waste industry to help us protect their legitimate business and report any suspicious activity to Crimestoppers anonymously.”

The news comes at a crucial time as Resources Minister Dan Rogerson announced an extra £5 million in government funding to cut waste crime in the UK at the CIWM and ESA conference earlier this week (18 June).

Background to waste crime

In a recent report, environmental consultancy Eunomia announced that the illegal disposal and management of waste materials costs the UK economy up to £808 million a year.

‘Waste Crime: Tackling Britain’s Dirty Secret’ was commissioned by the research charity, the Environmental Services Association Education Trust (ESAET). It stated that ‘waste crime in the UK is widespread and endemic’.

Indeed, whilst researching the report Eunomia found that several industry figures expressed concerns about the growth of a ‘culture of criminality’ in the waste sector.

In addition, the Environment Agency published a report last year (September 2013) that revealed that the number of individuals receiving prison sentences for ‘serious waste offences’ had risen by nearly 300 per cent since 2010.

To that measure, the Sentencing Council of the Ministry of Justice recently released new guidance for judges, which encourages courts to impose harsher sentences on those found guilty of illegal waste management.

Read more about the Environment Agency’s handling of waste crime.