EUROPE EXPRESS
Europe’ s dirty secret: Waste trafficking
Just a short drive from the tourist streets of Naples, Italy, the soil bears witness to an unnatural death toll. The towns of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano, once idyllic rural communities, have earned the grim epithet of“ the Triangle of Death.” This lethal zone created by the Camorra, one of Italy’ s most powerful Mafia groups, was not done so through drugs or guns, but through the calculated disposal of toxic waste. 1
According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy’ s leading health authority, residents of the Triangle face an elevated risk of dying from malignant tumors and respiratory diseases. The death rate is 9 % higher than the rest of the region. Other grim indicators include deformities in animals and rare cancers in children. 2
The water, soil and air, contaminated by decades of industrial waste dumped and incinerated in the area, are to blame. Much of the refuse is shipped from northern Italy and Germany by businesses who pay the Camorra to dispose of it at a fraction of the legal price. 3
Attempts to stop this atrocity have been made by the Italian government, the authorities and the European Court of Justice, with little to no change. 4
The Triangle of Death is one of many disturbing cases linked to the waste trafficking trade. The Financial Action Task Force estimates that illicit waste disposal, along with illegal mining and forestry crime, accounts for 66 % of global gains generated by environmental crimes. 5
In the EU, the the illegal trafficking in plastic waste is estimated to be worth up to $ 17.2 billion( 15 billion euros). 6
This article will investigate three main issues with waste trafficking in the EU, and how new European legislation could finally bring accountability.
Inadequate monitoring and enforcement
Between 2017 and 2022, Poland recorded 754 fires at waste storage sites. 7 Yet, up until 2023, there have been fewer than 10 people convicted for arson. 8
Prosecutors across Europe are generally reluctant to take on cases involving illegal waste disposal. They consider the cases to be burdensome, and with limited resources and small penalties, and often prioritize other crimes perceived as more serious or easier to prosecute. In many EU countries, the maximum prison term for illegal waste traffickers rarely surpasses five years. 9
In an interview with Investigate Europe, former senior expert in the European Commission’ s( EC) directorate for circular economy, Helmut Maurer, believes that EU law on waste trafficking is too lenient. 10
“ The law sees offenders as‘ economic actors’,” he stated.“ Environmental offences are seen as minor, admittedly in an obvious way. In most cases, cases against them do not stand up in court because the law makes it difficult to prove offences.” 11
Another issue is the lack of resources when it comes to investigating the crime. Up until 2023, many EU nations lacked inspection personnel. Poland only had 22 employees in the country’ s cross-border waste shipment department, while Spain had six staff members, France had 18 inspectors and Norway had four people working on waste export certificates. 12
When inspections are carried out, the focus is mostly on finding illicit alcohol and drug shipments. 13
This creates fertile ground for criminal activity. In Western Europe, if one wants to pursue the legitimate routes to recycling facilities in Germany, the cost per metric ton would be $ 344( 300 euros). If one wants to illegally dump the waste in Poland, the price would be between $ 34( 30 euros) and $ 57( 50 euros) per metric ton. 14
The EU’ s Waste Shipments Regulation( WSR), which came into force in 2006 to govern the transboundary movement of waste and ensure its environmentally sound transport, was found to have significant gaps in a 2023 report. The EU’ s report highlighted the discrepancies in reporting from member states, the lack of cooperation among the states and little data on sanctions and enforcement. 15
74 acamstoday. org