Environment agency calls for end to waste trade

The Environment Agency has called for help to end the waste trade into Africa in a bid to improve the world's atmosphere and air quality.

Earlier this week, the group's chairman Lord Smith spoke at an Interpol conference in Lyon, France, to ask European leaders to do something to tackle the problem of trading old electrical items, such as TVs, laptops and mobile phones.

He stated that this environmental crime prevents the products from being recycled and are often dumped in landfills.

Lord Smith added that the electrical waste also contains toxins such as arsenic, mercury and lead, releasing pollutants into the atmosphere and reducing the air quality.

He said: "The toxins are … contaminating air, land and water."

The Environment Agency recently put its efforts into reducing the problem of waste along the Lincolnshire coast with its programme called Operation Clean Sweep.

As part of the project launched by the agency and the East Lindsey District Council, leisure and tourism sites along the shoreline will be made to comply with strict waste disposal regulations.

Posted by Claire Manning