THE HAGUE - Dutch customs and the environmental inspection authorities have seized over 1,600 tonnes of British household waste illegally en route to China on 60 container ships in the last few months, the environment ministry said Thursday.
The ships, which carried the waste falsely labelled as paper, have been sent back to Britain, the ministry said in a statement.
"The Chinese authorities had not consented to the import and neither the British nor the Dutch authorities had issued the papers needed to export the waste or allow its transit," the statement added.
According to the Dutch authorities export of waste from Britain has risen because of the higher dumping fees under the countries new recycling policy.
The waste was brought to the Netherlands in trucks to be packed onto container ships.
The unnamed British company responsible for the shipment will be fined.
The Dutch authorities worked with the British Environment Agency on the operation.
In similar operation the Dutch together with German and Indonesian authorities also seized a shipment of 19 container ships filled with British household waste bound for Indonesia. The shipment was from the same unnamed British company and also did not have the proper permits.
04/07/2005 18:24 GMT