STOCKHOLM, Sept 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eleven people go on trial in Sweden on Tuesday accused of illegally dumping toxic waste in the country’s biggest-ever environmental crime case.
A once-acclaimed waste management company is accused of dumping or burying some 200,000 tonnes of waste from the Stockholm area at 21 sites, with no intention of processing it correctly.
Among those charged with “aggravated environmental crime” is its former chief executive Bella Nilsson, an ex-stripper who once called herself the “Queen of Trash”.
High levels of PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals were released into the air, soil and water, prosecutors said, endangering the “health of humans, animals and plant life”.
They say the now-bankrupt NMT Think Pink “collected waste with no intention or ability to handle it in line with environmental legislation.”
The waste consisted of everything from building materials to electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tyres and toys.
Think Pink left the piles “unsorted” and abandoned, according to the charge sheet.
Nilsson’s ex-husband Thomas, the company’s founder, and Leif Ivan Karlsson, an eccentric entrepreneur who starred in a reality show about his over-the-top lifestyle, are also among those indicted, along with “waste broker” Robert Silversten.
An environmental consultant who helped the company pass inspections, Magnus Karlsson, has been charged as an accessory.
All 11 accused have denied committing any crime.
Think Pink was hired by municipalities, construction companies, apartment co-ops and private individuals to recycle and dispose of building waste.
But the business came crashing down in 2020 when its owners were arrested.
Bella Nilsson — who has now changed her name to Fariba Vancor — has previously told Swedish media that the company acted in line with the law, and insisted she is the victim of a plot by business rivals.
Considered Sweden’s largest environmental crime case, the police investigation runs to more than 45,000 pages, with 150 witnesses due to testify.
Several municipalities have sought damages for clean-up and decontamination costs, totalling 260 million kronor ($25.4 million).
The trial, which begins at 09:30 am local time is expected to last until May 2025. — NNN-AGENCIES
