Poor track of hazardous waste in Sweden – New Technology

       

Where did the 680000 tonnes of hazardous waste road in Sweden in 2012? It is one of the issues the Auditor General Margareta Åberg down in the review of the hazardous waste is handled in Sweden.

At a look at the details of arisen and treated hazardous waste for 2012 is missing 680000 tonnes. But if this is due to shortcomings in the statistics or on illegal waste disposal is not possible to say.

There is in Sweden no overview of how dangerous Dispose slate Comptroller. There are plenty of problems in enforcement activities. Virtually no shipments of hazardous waste are controlled within the country.

Moreover, it is impossible to carry out supervision outside office because the expert staff of the county administrative boards only working hours. That makes it difficult for customs officers and police making efforts around the clock.

Follow-up of the supervision of shipments of waste is limited. Neither the government nor the Environmental Protection Agency has no reliable picture of how supervision is carried out.

The audit also shows that when cross-border illegal waste shipments are detected, it is the result that the provincial government issued an injunction prohibiting export. But this is no problem for rogue actors to address in his pocket – the order will be returned to the provincial government.

It can also be difficult to determine when the crime ‘attempted illegal shipment’ occurs. The difficulties of using penalty provisions can reduce the deterrent effect of the sanctions, considers the Auditor General.

National Audit urges the Government to ensure that illegal waste shipments charted nationally and regionally. Traceability must be made within a reasonable time and the decision must be made about how the county administrative boards’ oversight responsibilities will be organized. In addition, the Government should find out whether the Swedish penalty rules need to be amended.

EPA urged to improve the monitoring of interventions on cross-border waste shipments and Customs Administration should increase the number of inspections of import shipments and conduct inspection of transport in port areas.

County Councils, police, customs and Coast Guard should also improve the ability to control waste shipments around the clock.