Environment – Frankfurt (Oder) – Control of waste transports at the Polish border – Knowledge
Frankfurt (Oder) (dpa/bb) – In a joint action, officials from several federal states and Poland carried out checks on waste transports at the Polish border. On Wednesday, officials from the Federal Office for Goods Transport piloted garbage trucks on the A12 motorway to a control point at the Frankfurt (Oder)-West exit. This is intended to detect illegal waste transports, especially from the Brandenburg/Berlin area to Poland, as the managing director of the Brandenburg/Berlin (SBB) special waste company, Berend Wilkens, explained.
For example, large quantities of asparagus foil were recently dumped illegally on farmland in Poland, Wilkens reported. His company is currently organizing the return of 110,000 tons of construction waste that was dumped illegally in Poland. There are often violations of plastics, electronic waste or car parts.
In many cases, transports with hazardous substances that require a permit would simply be re-declared, said Wilkens. If the companies were found out, they would have to pay for the return transport and expect criminal proceedings. In addition to fines and penalties, imprisonment is also payable in individual cases. According to the Federal Environment Agency, according to the police statistics, more than 230 cases of illegal waste transports were prosecuted in 2020, after around 250 in the previous year and more than 200 in 2018.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221005-99-15692/3