UK firms fined for waste exports

LONDON - Two British businesses responsible for attempting to illegally export 259 tons of mixed waste to China were fined the maximum amount on Wednesday.

The businesses disguised 10 containers of mixed waste as scrap metal for export but were discovered at Felixstowe, the largest British port, during a routine inspection by the British government's regulatory body Environment Agency.

The last time illegal shipments to China caused a public stir was in 2005, when more than 1,000 tons of contaminated British household refuse disguised as waste paper was intercepted in the Netherlands.