It is obvious that much tougher rules are needed for this type of operation, says Stina Lundgren (M), chairman of the municipal council in Botkyrka.
The trial of the Think Pink scandal began on Tuesday, described as Sweden's largest environmental scandal of all time.
According to the indictment, Think Pink has systematically taken payment for handling waste and then dumped it illegally. And now the municipalities have to handle the garbage mountains. Five of the affected municipalities – Norrtälje, Botkyrka, Eskilstuna, Gullspång, and Uppvidinge – are demanding stricter legislation.
The municipalities want, among other things, to see stricter penalties for environmental crimes.
Today, the fines are ridiculously low. There are those who take the fines and pay them because they make so much money anyway. They think the fine is small change and then you need a higher penalty scale for environmental crimes, says Stina Lundgren.
Another proposal is to abolish the county administrative board as an appellate body to speed up the process.
When we impose a fine on a company that we see has handled something incorrectly and it is appealed, it goes on to the county administrative board. Then it takes several months. As long as there is an appeal, our fine does not come into force, nothing happens.
The goal of stricter legislation from the municipalities' perspective is to achieve fair competition on the market for serious actors.
We hope it will lead to getting rid of unserious actors. There are serious actors on the market and they should not be punished.
Abolish the county administrative board as an appellate body in this type of cases and limit the possibility of leave to appeal in the Land and Environmental Court to get faster processes, within both the Environmental Code and the Planning and Building Act.
Tangible penalties for environmental crimes and extended opportunities for environmental sanctions. Furthermore, the damages awarded must remain in place for a longer period, so that criminals do not escape them after a shorter time.
There should be an obligatory requirement for economic security in waste management operations and other activities where the environment can be damaged.
The authorities should have extended opportunities to share information with each other.
General permit requirement for waste management operations.
Source: Norrtälje Municipality
