The inhabitants of Tuplice (Lubusz Voivodeship) have been waiting for years for the export of twenty tons of post-zinc waste that illegally came to Poland from Germany. In May, the Ministry of Climate and Environment announced that “a waste removal schedule has been agreed with the German government.” A few days ago, trucks and excavators appeared in Tuplica. The first part of the waste has already been removed.
– The German side has started exporting illegal zinc slag waste lying in Tuplica (Lubusz Voivodeship). This is a place where illegal waste originating from illegal cross-border shipments is removed from German – Maciej Karczyński, spokesman for the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, said on Friday.
Exportation was supposed to start in August, but this did not happen. As the mayor of the Tuplice commune reported at the time, “it was not possible to reach an agreement on the storage of equipment and the installation of sanitary facilities.” And so, heavy equipment entered Tuplice on October 8.
– The trucks were loaded and took away the first part of the waste. Work related to waste disposal is ongoing. In the near future, in accordance with the arrangements with the German side, the company carrying out the work is to remove all indicated illegal waste that came from Germany to Tuplice – adds Karczyński.
According to the schedule presented by the Ministry of Climate and Environment in May, waste collection should be completed by the end of the year. “(…) Germany will remove the waste at its own expense. This is the result of effective diplomacy, not hooting. We will also clean up more landfills,” wrote Paulina Henning-Kloska, Minister of Climate and Environment, on the “X” platform.
Tuplice are the first, but not the last
In 2015, inspectors of the Provincial Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in Zielona Góra carried out an inspection in Tuplica, during which they discovered illegally transported waste.
“It was then established that German entities were responsible for the illegal shipment of waste. Due to the lack of Germany's response to numerous letters from the Polish side, the waste in Tuplica was included in a complaint against the Federal Republic of Germany submitted to the European Commission in 2023, and then a complaint to CJEU. In a reasoned opinion, the Commission stated that waste from Tuplice should be returned to Germany,” the Ministry of Climate and Environment said.
It is estimated that there are approximately 35 tons of waste illegally imported from Germany in Poland. According to the ministry, Tuplice is one of seven towns from which waste originating from illegal cross-border shipments from Germany will be removed. The remaining landfills are located in Stary Jawor (Lower Silesian Voivodeship), Sobolewo (Lower Silesian Voivodeship), Gliwice (Silesian Voivodeship), Sarbia (Greater Poland Voivodeship), Bzów (Greater Poland Voivodeship) and Babin (Greater Poland Voivodeship).
Main photo source: CIEP