Man Jailed For Illegally Exporting Electrical Waste to Africa

6/21/2014

Joe Benson becomes the first person to be jailed for exporting hazardous waste abroad without following safety procedures. Attempting to distribute 46 tonnes of electrical waste into Africa earn't Benson 16 months in prison after pleading guilty.

Joe Benson, a waste dealer from Essex, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for illegally exporting over 45 tonnes of hazardous electrical waste to Africa according to the Environmental Agency. Broken cathode ray tube televisions and ozone-depleting fridge freezers were found in four containers by the agency's investigators who intercepted them at ports between September 2012 and April 2013.

The hazardous waste was being sent to Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and the Congo. Benson, 54, pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court. It is thought he stood to make around £32,000 from the export of the intercepted containers, making money by collecting the waste and selling it on, and avoiding the costs of dealing with it safely. Benson was previously convicted of exporting similar hazardous waste to Nigeria in 2011, and was appealing against his conviction – unsuccessfully – while continuing to illegally export televisions and freezers to West Africa, the Environment Agency said.

The waste was collected from civic amenity sites in London and the Home Counties and took it to his licensed waste site in Walthamstow, where, according to the Environment Agency, it should have been tested for functionality and safety before being exported. Electronic waste exported to African countries, which do not have the infrastructure to handle it safely, can end up in large-scale dumps where products are stripped or burnt to extract valuable metals, causing pollution and health problems. Dumped electronic goods can contain hazardous materials such as lead, phosphors and ozone-depleting gases.

Andrew Higham, who leads the Environment Agency's national environmental crime team, said: "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 flout the rules for his own personal benefit."

Director of regulated industry Harvey Bradshaw said: "This sentence is a landmark ruling because it's the first time anyone has been sent to prison for illegal waste exports." The sentencing thus represents a landmark in the treatment of illegal environmental activity as the UK makes strides to eradicate potentially dangerous environmental crimes.