Brazil Demands Repatriation of UK Hazardous Waste 110
Peace Corps Online writes "BBC reports that Brazilian authorities are demanding the return of more than 1,400 tons of hazardous British waste found in about 90 shipping containers on three Brazilian docks. The waste, which includes syringes, condoms, and bags of blood, has been identified as being of UK origin from the names of British supermarkets and newspapers among the rubbish. Reports in the UK media say the waste was sent from Felixstowe in eastern England to the port of Santos, near Sao Paulo, and two other ports in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The British government has launched an investigation into how and why the waste was sent to Brazil and the British Embassy in Brazil has said in a statement that it was investigating and would 'not hesitate to act' if it was found that a UK company had violated the Basel Convention on the movement of hazardous waste. Meanwhile Brazil is demanding the immediate return of the rubbish to the UK. 'We will ask for the repatriation of this garbage,' says Roberto Messias, head of the Brazilian environment agency. 'Clearly, Brazil is not a big rubbish dump of the world.'" Two UK companies named by Brazil as suspected exporters of the waste are owned by a Brazilian, based in the UK, who says that anything that was in the containers other than the expected recyclable plastic is a problem to take up with his suppliers.
Why is this on Slashdot ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why is this on Slashdot ?
riiiiight.... (Score:5, Insightful)
who says that anything that was in the containers other than the expected recyclable plastic is a problem to take up with his suppliers.
Did he ship it? Did his company sign the manifests and declarations? Did his company pay the mooring fees? Sorry, that's the cost of doing business. It's his problem.
"I didn't know what was in the bag" doesn't work for smugglers.
Re:Why is this on Slashdot ? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is nothing but a pitiful attempt to flamebait the British, the Brazilian and the peanut gallery over here for more ad clicks.
Re:Why is this on Slashdot ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Because despite what you may think, it *is* "stuff that matters" (and by that I mean how big companies/governement - for now there's still a difference - are handling waste).
And the problem is... what? (Score:2, Insightful)
Plus, it seems like a simple problem of foul play between companies, why does the government get involved?
I know waste disposal is a huge problem, but this sounds like attention-whoring.
Re:And the problem is... what? (Score:3, Insightful)
Plus, it seems like a simple problem of foul play between companies, why does the government get involved?
because at one stage companies in developed countries were pushing thier waste problems on to less developed countries where they were far less likely to be dealt with in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
It was decided this was a bad thing and so international agreements were signed forbidding it. Someone has broken that agreement and it is now the governments job to punish them for doing so.
Re:Hopefully this makes the article a bit more pal (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Have you been there? Rubbish has more flavour! (Score:1, Insightful)
May I suggest that next time you don't spend your time eating at chippies, greasy spoon cafes, pubs and fast food places? Try some of the good restaurants, you can find them in most towns, even those in the Fens, it just takes some effort to look them up. British food isn't just about the full English breakfast and fish and chips. They have an extensive range of foods and dishes (and heck, it even varies in style from region to region) and don't deserve tourists who can't figure out a pub from a restaurant spreading the myth than Britain has bad food.