Authorities in Brazil are demanding that thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste is returned to the UK, after containers were shipped to three of the country’s ports.
According to the BBC, an investigation has now been opened by the government into how the waste, which contains bags of blood, syringes, condoms and nappies, came to be there.
Roberto Messias, president of the Brazilian environment agency Ibama, said the organisation will ask for the containers to be repatriated to the UK.
"Clearly, Brazil is not a big rubbish dump of the world," he added.
It is thought the waste may have originated in the Felixstowe area, before being shipped to the port of Santos, near Sao Paulo, as well as two other destinations.
Hazardous waste agreements may have been violated by the incident, according to Ibama.
The movement of hazardous waste around the world is covered by the Basel Convention.