French customs prevented 24.6t of automotive waste from being exported to Lomé last year

Logistics

Thursday, 07 March 2019 17:08

French customs prevented 24.6t of automotive waste from being exported to Lomé last year

(Togo First) - Last year, in April, Sète’s customs, in south eastern France, ceased 24.6 tons of automotive waste headed to the Port of Lomé. This is revealed in the latest report of France’s customs.

While conducting a routine inspection of two semi-trailers headed for Africa, custom officers noticed that the “vehicles’ refuse skips were not empty as declared but instead full of automotive waste that had not been depolluted.”

The inspection led to the discovery of “24.6 tons of automotive waste, knowingly, three road tractors’ engine blocks, forty used truck tires, eight lorry axles, bumpers with licence plates, reservoirs and batteries.”

Since it is forbidden in the European Union to export waste to countries that do not have the adequate capacity to process this waste, “the firm accused paid depollution charges as well as fees to dispose of the goods, and a fine.”

According to data from French customs, in 2017 this office recorded 471 cases related to transborder transfer of waste (up 82% compared to 2016).

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