An organized system for illegally disposing of hazardous waste, circumventing regulations, and cutting management costs. This is the accusation that led the Carabinieri of the Naples Environmental Protection and Energy Security Group, together with the provincial commands of Salerno, Naples, and Caserta, to execute twelve precautionary measures as part of an investigation coordinated by the Salerno judiciary.
The charges are "organized activity for the illegal trafficking of waste" and "issuing invoices for non-existent transactions." Eight of the suspects were placed under house arrest, while four others were ordered to remain in their homes.
The investigation, launched in October 2023 by the Naples National Environmental Protection Agency (NOE) and developed over months through technical assessments and documentary evidence, is said to have uncovered a proven mechanism. According to investigators, hazardous and non-hazardous special waste was disposed of, largely waste from the treatment of industrial waste, textile materials, and unsorted municipal solid waste from plants in the provinces of Naples and Caserta. This was all done with the support of industry intermediary companies, thus avoiding the costs associated with the management procedures required by law.
According to the prosecution, the illicit trafficking occurred through three main channels. A first flow transported industrial waste collected at a recycling center to the Battipaglia waste disposal facility, a public facility designated for other types of disposal. A second route involved dumping the waste in various sites, including those of particular natural value, and in some cases outside Campania. The third, considered among the most serious due to its environmental impact, involved the dumping of waste in Roccadaspide, in an area connected to a meat processing plant, resulting in "significant disfigurement and damage" to the area.
The system was also allegedly made possible by the "fictitious classification of waste" by production plants, accompanied by the preparation of false documentation certifying transports and disposals that never occurred. The "false invoicing" would then formally cover up non-existent transactions, lending a semblance of regularity to the transfer and subsequent illegal dumping of industrial waste.
Along with the personal precautionary measures, the investigating judge of the Court of Salerno ordered the seizure of two facilities believed to be involved in the illegal waste disposal network, eight vehicles used to transport waste, and approximately €530 deemed "profits from crimes" related to organized trafficking and the use of invoices for non-existent transactions. This strikes against a system that, according to the prosecution, transformed waste into profit at the expense of the environment and public health.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
This article discusses an illegal waste disposal system that seems very worrying. The Carabinieri have done a good job, but it remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved. Public health and the environment are serious matters and must be protected.