"Action sharp"

Illegal waste transports in the sights of investigators

Trucks and vans in particular were put to the test.

(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

Three-day "Action sharp" against illegal transportation of waste and hazardous goods in Carinthia. 21 vehicles had to be stopped. 

The waste business is worth billions - especially when the waste is disposed of illegally or transported across Europe. And companies save themselves the bureaucracy and costs of obtaining permits. The associated risks to the environment, emergency services and the public in the event of an accident are accepted. Investigators in Carinthia have now declared war on these activities.

Unfortunately, there are many repeat offenders. If they are caught once in ten illegal journeys, they still make a profit in total.

Chefinspektor Christian Schütz, Fachbereichsleiter in der Kärntner Landesverkehrsabteilung

"Together with experts from the Ministry of the Environment and colleagues from the State Criminal Police Office, we spent three days carrying out priority checks at the Arnoldstein and Karawanken Tunnel border crossing points in accordance with the Waste Management and Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. These checks are carried out once a year. But these kinds of checks are part of our daily routine anyway," said head of operations Christian Schütz from the provincial traffic department to "Krone".

21 vehicles "parked"
The impressive results of the three-day operation are clear: a total of 73 checks (which normally take around 45 minutes each) resulted in no fewer than 98 reports, almost 20,000 euros in security payments were collected and 21(!) drivers were banned from continuing their journey - mostly due to serious technical defects in their vehicles.