Watchdog halts shipments of waste to Africa

• Imported television sets sit on a dump at a swamp in Nigeria

Following tip-offs, inspectors from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) have discovered four containers of discarded consumer products that were due to be shipped to Nigeria and Ghana in the last five months.

The tyres were found on an industrial estate in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, earlier this year, while the broken televisions were discovered in industrial units in Glasgow.

A further shipment of tyres being sent to Nigeria from Scotland was halted last month at Felixstowe by Sepa's sister body in England, the Environment Agency, after being alerted by Scottish officials.

Sepa experts warned that the consignments were part of a growing illegal trade in potentially hazardous waste that should be recycled in the UK. But old tyres and TV sets, that are likely to cause health problems and pollution in the countries to which they are exported, can be sold for a profit to African traders.

Officials described the individuals behind the shipments as "waste tourists" who travel the UK finding waste products for export. Shipping waste without the appropriate licence is an offence that attracts an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison.

However, Sepa said no legal action had been taken in these cases as the agency preferred to give the individuals involved an opportunity to follow the correct procedures.

Patrick McKell, produce compliance and waste shipment manager at Sepa, said the tyres, which were to be shipped to Ghana, were likely to be sold off as fuel to burn other industrial waste materials such as animal hides and plastic. But the fires were likely to spread toxic fumes into nearby communities before being thrown into rivers where they would pollute water sources.

"A lot of waste from the developed world is being dumped," he said. "It has a serious impact on the local population, which contributes to a whole range of medical conditions."

It is believed that the TVs can be sold for up to 8 each in Nigeria - where the components are stripped out and sold around Africa.

The television sets were bound for Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, where, after stripping, the empty plastic casings were likely to be dumped in piles in remote areas of the country.

"These are rudimentary reprocessing facilities which often employ children and expose the operatives to potentially serious health and safety issues," said McKell.

"We come across this on a regular basis now," he added."We try to work with people and explain to them what they are and are not allowed to do.

"We make them return the containers to their sites at their own cost. Then all of the unusable products have to be removed. If there are any products which are working and it is legal to export them, they can then do that separately."

Charities working in Africa said the trade should be stamped out. "The last thing Africa needs is the toxic waste that would result from Scotland's ancient tyres and televisions being dumped on its land," said Kathy Galloway, head of Christian Aid Scotland.

"Poverty is not simply about a lack of basic resources like water or food; it can be about being exposed to dangerous chemicals."

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, which runs projects in Africa and Asia to help local people develop sustainable livelihoods from waste products, said: "Africa must not become a cheap dumping ground for the waste of rich nations like Scotland.

"The illegal or irresponsible disposal of broken electrical appliances such as televisions and old tyres to countries like Nigeria and Ghana is disgraceful. Components within televisions can have a very harmful impact on the health of some of the poorest people, including young children."

He added: "In poor communities children are often forced to scavenge waste dumps to find scraps of materials which they can sell so they can buy a little food. Knowingly introducing toxic materials into this environment is totally irresponsible."