SOILED nappies, old food and a used toilet brush were just some of the items illegally sent abroad via Southampton.

Tianyong Wang appeared in court after exporting illegal rubbish to Indonesia via the Port of Southampton.

The 43-year-old had earlier pleaded guilty to causing his dissolved company, Berry Polymer Ltd, to export the waste.

The smell of the illegal waste reportedly caused an Environment Agency officer to be physically sick and included 1,590 nappies and sanitary items, 1,338 electrical items, and 33,639 tins and cans.

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Other items included clothing, textiles and rags, plastic bags, glass, wood, golf balls, toys, a used toilet brush and food and drink cartons.

Shipping documents described the waste as plastic, which can be exported to Indonesia for recycling.

Howard McCann, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told Kidderminster magistrates that between June 27 and July 5, 2019, Wang had caused his company to export some 382 tonnes of household waste in 17 sea containers from its site in Droitwich via Southampton and another five from Felixstowe.

Wang had agreed to sell 500 tonnes of plastic bottle waste to a broker at £270 per tonne. A purchase order confirmed the load site of the waste as “Berry Polymer Ltd, 20 The Furlong, Droitwich WR9 9AH.”

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Berry Polymer invoiced the broker £103,210.20 for 382.26 tonnes of “plastic bottles.” Environment Agency officers discovered the offence when they conducted initial inspections of some of the 22 containers sent to Southampton and Felixstowe.

The checks recorded significant evidence of contamination, flies and, in some containers, a rotting decomposing smell.

The containers were deemed unfit for export and prevented from onward shipment to Indonesia. All the containers were returned to the site in Droitwich for reprocessing.

In sentencing, district judge Ian Strongman said this was a “blunder” by Wang that cost him his business and his reputation.

At Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court, Wang, of Welcombe Grove, Solihull, was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.

Sham Singh, a senior investigating officer for the Environment Agency, said: “This prosecution sends out a strong message we will investigate and, where necessary, prosecute anyone found to be involved in exporting waste illegally.

“Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact and puts communities at risk. It undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that go with it.

“We support businesses operating within the law by stopping the illegal waste exports.”

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