– It is the biggest case we have come across, and it could probably be the biggest in the country, says Linda Aaram, director of environmental protection at the State Administrator in Møre og Romsdal. In Eide, a town on the border between Nordmøre and Romsdal, there is a plot overflowing with rubbish. Tens of thousands of tonnes of waste are strewn on the plot in Hustadvika municipality. It can cost over NOK 50 million to remove. Photo: Roar Strøm / news The state administrator believes it could be as much as 20,000 tonnes with everything from building materials and metal to clothing and electronics. They do not know what is hidden inside the huge piles. Gives 3.6 million for plastic cleanup The recycling company was required to clean up already in 2008 and has been given several new deadlines. In November 2020, the company went bankrupt and the State Administrator was left in charge. The case was reported to the police, and is still under investigation. Now Handelens Miljøfond has given the State Administrator in Møre og Romsdal NOK 3.6 million so that work on removing plastic from the property can begin. General manager of Handelens Miljøfond, Cecilie Lind. Photo: Handelens Miljøfond – We know that it is often difficult for the environmental authorities to find funding for clean-up. That is why we are very happy to be able to contribute to the clean-up being underway, says Cecilie Lind, general manager of Handelens Miljøfond. – It is assumed that there are around 1,000 tonnes of plastic at the plant, she says. Believes that environmental toxins are on the way. Also last year, money was allocated to remove waste from the site. That time it came from the Norwegian Environment Agency, and enough was removed that they were able to take samples of the ground. These must provide an answer to how much contaminated material there is in the area. – What is the most dangerous thing here on the property? – There are environmental toxins and hazardous waste. There are environmental toxins on the way, and we have to deal with that in particular, says Aaram. What the director of environmental protection fears most is that environmental toxins will spread outside the property. – Is it possible to avoid it? – That is our goal. Believes responsibility should be shared The former day-to-day manager of Miljøservice Eide writes in an e-mail to news that the State Administrator should also take responsibility for the fact that things went as they did. – The facility has had approval from the State Administrator since its inception in 2008, until the end of November 2020. The State Administrator has been well aware of the problems throughout, he writes. Furthermore, he writes that, as of today, there is no documented pollution from the plant to water or air. The state administrator will not answer what responsibility they may have in this case and points out that the case is under investigation. – Why was the company allowed to last so long? Linda Aaram, director of environmental protection for the State Trustee Møre og Romsdal, says that this is the biggest pollution case they have had. Photo: Roar Strøm / news – We have had an evaluation, and today we do it in a completely different way. We intervene much more quickly, and notify measures, says Aaram. – We have learned something from this case, she adds. Can get a price tag of 50 million Although the State Administrator has received financial support from both the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Norwegian Trade Environment Fund, they believe that it is far from enough. They believe that the sum to clean and secure the area in a good way could be over NOK 50 million. And for the time being, it is the taxpayers who have to pick up a large part of the bill. – Now it is like that the state steps in and cleans up, and then we take the bill in the first instance. But we have submitted a claim to the police for compensation, says Aaram. Photo: Roar Strøm / news
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Struggling to clean up: – Could be Norway’s biggest waste pollution case
