Poland Seeks to Toss Aside Reputation as Europe’s Dumping Ground

Poland doesn’t want to be seen as Europes’s dumping ground.

Lenient regulations and a shortage of environmental inspectors has dramatically increased illegal trash imports, triggering the need for tougher laws and more rigorous enforcement, government officials said.

Recently, the government identified 39 cases of illegal imports of waste, totaling 4,404 tons, most of it coming from Great Britain. Smaller amounts have come from Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.

Poland plans to shut down 129 illegal landfills and is working to amend its waste laws to increase the number of inspectors and ...