3R Technology UK Ltd, based at Longbridge Road in Preston, and Director Yulin Wang, 56, of Haighton Drive in Preston appeared at Preston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 24 March where they pleaded guilty to 16 charges.
The court heard the company exported waste falsely described as clean plastic, when it was actually contaminated with electrical waste, including wiring and circuit boards and other mixed waste.
This meant the waste could not lawfully be exported without prior notification and consent.
Following an Environment Agency investigation, the company and Wang were charged with 14 offences related to shipments of contaminated plastic waste between April 2022 and February 2025, and two to breaching prohibition notices served in August 2024.
The company was fined £80,000, ordered to pay costs of £45,000 and a victim surcharge of £2,000, while Wang was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work in the community, and ordered to pay costs of £15,000 and a victim surcharge of £114.
Image shows a close up of the contaminated waste.
Complete disregard for legislation
Emma Viner, Enforcement and Investigations Manager at the Environment Agency, said
Wang and his company had a complete disregard for the legislation in place to protect the environment and communities, deliberately flouting the law and ignoring notices to cease activity.
Our officers work tirelessly to tackle waste criminals, and the outcome of this prosecution sends a message to others that we will not tolerate those breaching regulations.
We are coming down hard on criminals across the whole waste sector and they can expect to have action taken against them.
The court was told the charges related to the shipment of nine containers in April 2022, three in May and July 2024 and two in February 2025.
The international regime designed to regulate the movement of waste across borders means exporters must ensure the waste is properly classified, accurately described and only exported with the proper notification and consent.
A 2022 spot check at Felixstowe led to the start of an investigation, with inspections confirming that all containers were significantly contaminated despite paperwork describing the waste as clean plastic.
In 2024, despite the ongoing investigation, an intercepted container at Liverpool was found to have electrical waste tucked to the back of the container in efforts to conceal it, with the clean waste at the front.
Two prohibition notices were issued in August 2024, requiring the company to stop shipping contaminated plastic without compliance with the regulations.
Despite this, two further containers were exported and were found to contain heavily contaminated plastic waste.
Last week, the government and Environment Agency announced a waste crime crackdown, unveiling a sweeping package of measures targeting illegal dumping.
The new Waste Crime Action Plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach, with action to prevent waste crime at its source by closing loopholes and equipping regulators with the tools they need to stop waste criminals.