- MV Recycling (UK) Ltd pleaded guilty to three charges related to the attempted export of contaminated waste and was ordered to pay £30,400 by the court.
- The company’s Director was caught trying to pass off waste plastic heavily contaminated with household waste and electrical goods as ‘Green List’ waste which is considered a lower risk to the environment.
- The Environment Agency’s new Ten Point Plan is taking an intelligence-led approach to crack down on waste crime.
MV Recycling (UK) Ltd has been fined after attempting to illegally export plastics contaminated with household waste – including sanitary products and nappies – three times in one year.
The company pleaded guilty to all three charges related to the exports and was ordered to pay £30,400 in fines and prosecution costs.
Contaminated waste bale. Copyright Environment Agency
The company’s sole director, Noormohammed Master, claimed on the official paperwork accompanying the waste that it was clean, uncontaminated plastics, also known as ‘Green List’ waste.
MV Recycling (UK) Ltd entered into a business agreement with companies in Turkey to carry out the scheme. After obtaining waste from other businesses in the UK, the company was caught attempting to transport containers contaminated with electricals, including wiring and circuit boards and other mixed household waste.
Warning and guidance
The company failed to respond to a warning and clear guidance from the Environment Agency after the first offence, committed in March 2019. 11 shipping containers were loaded with waste at a recycling facility in Kent and transported to Felixstowe where inspections found the waste was not as described and it was denied export.
The third offence was the worst of all, involving shipments loaded during December 2019, totalling 9 shipping containers, bound for Turkey. These were also held back at Felixstowe after inspections.
Contaminated waste. Copyright Environment Agency
During the search of selected waste bales more contaminants were removed from within them including tin, paper, card, textiles, plastic and wood, and again, household waste. The final illegal export of waste took place despite an earlier warning from the Environment Agency.
Source of waste
MV Recycling (UK) Ltd did not disclose the source of the waste, with some seeming to originate from France. A third party was used to source plastic waste from the same Kent-based company involved in the first offence, but the waste was then taken to another company in Newcastle to load it into shipping containers.
The Kent-based company would not have made this deal if they had known the waste was earmarked for export, in light of the previous incident with MV Recycling (UK). They knew the company’s facility could not then sort and separate waste to the required standard.
This contamination meant the waste could not lawfully be exported without prior notification to, and consent from, the Environment Agency and should have been classed as ‘Amber List.’
This type of waste would have required the payment of a financial guarantee to cover the possibility of the authorities in the receiving country refusing to accept the waste and ordering its repatriation.
Sentencing
During interviews following the final offence, an Environment Agency officer said it was the worst contaminated material he’d witnessed. The company was sentenced on 5th May 2026 at Preston Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard of the reckless disregard for the law as a third party was used to arrange transactions and MV Recycling (UK) Ltd misled others about the true source and destination for the waste. Mr Master accepted he had misled the Environment Agency officers about the waste source while the waste was being examined in January 2020.
MV Recycling (UK) Ltd has since changed its business model, moved premises, and has remained compliant since. Environment Agency checks have found no evidence of further offending and the company and its director had no previous convictions, cautions or reprimands.
Joanna Larmour, Deputy Director of the National Environmental Crime Unit, said
MV Recycling (UK) Ltd showed a complete disregard for the legislation in place to protect the environment and communities, flouting the law and ignoring warnings. They continued to carry out their plans, offending three times in one year.
Our officers work tirelessly to tackle waste crime, and the outcome of this prosecution sends a clear message to others, that we will not tolerate companies breaking important waste laws.
Following our investigation, the company has been held accountable. Criminals can expect to have action taken against them when they try to exploit the system.
Businesses use services like MV Recycling (UK) Ltd to help fulfil their recycling quotas, obtaining packaging export recovery notes (PERNs) to show evidence of recycling. The overarching goal is for producers to be financially responsible for the waste they generate.
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.
In line with its Ten Point Plan, the Environment Agency is targeting poorly performing sites that export waste as a means of waste disposal, working with partners to stop and inspect waste being exported out of the UK at the earliest opportunity, preventing further environmental harm.