Activists call for justice over Italian waste management corruption scandal in Tunisia

05 May 2021 --- Environmental groups are calling for what they say is an overdue legal resolution on an international corruption scandal in which an Italian waste management company had been illegally shipping municipal waste overseas to Tunisia. The case was exposed over six months ago by Tunisian investigative journalists. 

According to EU and international law, Italy should have taken back the waste months ago but has failed to act. Campaigners say the case exemplifies endemic issues in global waste management and highlights how much of the world’s pollution is rooted in corruption. 

Politicians were found colluding with companies operating a cost avoidance scheme, whereby Italian organization Sviluppo Risorse Ambientali circumvented domestic waste disposal costs and illicitly sent 282 shipping containers of mixed municipal waste to Tunisia, where fees are almost 20 times lower. 

Speaking to PackagingInsights, Sirine Rached, a global policy advocate for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), says the case shows the gap between legal obligations and on-the-ground enforcement.

“This is partly due to a lack of political will to seriously enforce these obligations,” she asserts. “We hope the Italian government and law-enforcement agencies will respond promptly and positively to the call of our group of 44 environmental organizations because Tunisia is not Italy’s dumping ground.”

Waste exportation to less developed nations is a major source of pollution in some countries.Avoiding costs at any cost 
Sviluppo Risorse Ambientali faced criticism for working with Tunisian company Soreplast to avoid the Italian mixed municipal waste disposal fees of around €100 (US$120) per ton, instead taking advantage of the low disposal fees of €5.60 (US$6.73) per ton in Tunisia. 

Meanwhile, Soreplast pocketed €48 (US$57) per ton to theoretically recover any recyclable wastes from the shipments and manage their final disposal. 

The contract between the companies allowed for a transfer of up to 120,000 tons of non-hazardous municipal waste per year, says a report by Gaia. The contract also explicitly stated the recyclable waste would be recovered for recycling and the remaining waste disposed of in Tunisia. 

The scheme was illegal under various international treaties and laws, including the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation, which prohibits the export of all EU wastes for final disposal to countries outside the European Free Trade Association. 

It also violates the Basel Convention, which forbids the transfer of hazardous wastes from developed to less-developed nations. 

Fraudulent claims 
Despite the legal breaches, the companies succeeded in obtaining consent for the shipments from the Tunisian National Waste Management Agency on February 20, 2020. 

It is unclear what has happened to the Italian waste currently awaiting repatriation from Tunisia.Soreplast repeatedly claimed they intended only to extract recyclables from the Italian waste and re-export residual waste back to Italy – however, these claims are inconsistent both with the contract and with the fact that no such re-export ever took place, says Gaia. 

Instead, the day after granting consent for the shipments, the Tunisian National Waste Management Agency authorized Soreplast to bury waste in a landfill in Sousse, Tunisia.

The scandal had far-reaching consequences in Tunisia, with an ongoing court case against the former Minister of the Environment, among other defendants, most of whom have been held in pre-trial detention. 

However, Italy has failed to repatriate the waste despite the legal clarity. 

Calls for reform
Corruption and criminal activity are unfortunately a long-standing reality in the waste sector in Italy and other countries, says Rached. 

“This case is yet another example of why we need government, judicial and law-enforcement authorities to investigate closely and where needed prosecute waste crimes because, without effective enforcement, the problems and pollution are only going to get worse.”

Laws could be changed to increase penalties in illegal shipments like this one, but good laws without proper enforcement are not worth much. 

“Enforcement agencies including customs and judicial authorities should be adequately resourced and trained to better monitor exports, and intervene promptly where they suspect illegal activity.”

Pierre Condamine, a waste policy officer at Zero Waste Europe, tells PackagingInsights there are concerns some of the Italian waste may have disappeared in Tunisia while awaiting repatriation. This may be why Italian authorities have so far failed to act. 

Condamine stresses this case should be used to set an example for industry actors abusing their positions, but is doubtful justice will be served. 

By Louis Gore-Langton

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