Julio Cesar Rando da Costa, 49, was given the fine by a British court last week.

The amount was to cover Brazilian fines and costs in returning the 91 containers of rubbish - which included syringes, used nappies, condoms and toilet seat covers - to Britain incurred by the transport firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

The containers, improperly labelled as plastic for recycling, were discovered in Brazilian ports by environmental inspectors in July 2009. Their contents violated the terms of a 1991 Basel Convention prohibiting the transport of certain waste.

The find sparked official indignation in Brazil, which angrily said it should not be a dump for wealthier countries.

MSC, which was contracted to ship the containers to Brazil, was made to return them to Britain and fined $US225,000 ($A256,300) by Brazilian authorities.

The company lodged the commercial lawsuit in Britain against Da Costa, who owned a British recycling company called Worldwide Biorecyclables, to recover its STG731,615 ($A1.31 million) in transport costs and fines.

Da Costa told Agencia Estado his company, which employed eight people in the southern city of Swindon, no longer existed.

"Today I deliver pizzas and earn STG900 ($A1,610) a month," he said.

He said he intended to appeal the fine and was seeking legal aid to do so.