– The danger is great that waste that can harm health and the environment is exported out of Norway illegally, says Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. The National Audit Office is today presenting a report on the authorities’ control of waste that is exported out of the country. They believe that the Norwegian authorities’ handling is objectionable. – The conclusion is that the control is inadequate, that the risk of being discovered is low and once someone is caught, they rarely face consequences. The National Audit Office’s report The National Audit Office’s overall assessment of how the Norwegian authorities control waste that is exported out of the country is that it is worthy of criticism. They reason it more that: The authorities’ control and supervision work is deficient. The detection risk is low. Sanctioning is not very effective. The Norwegian Environment Agency is responsible for overseeing waste leaving Norway, with assistance from the Norwegian Customs Service. Between 2017 and 2021, eight cases of illegal waste export were reported. – It is problematic that many cases that are suspected of being serious are neither followed up nor have consequences. Eight reviews during a five-year period do not exactly act as a deterrent, says Schjøtt-Pedersen. So far this year, a notification has been submitted for illegal export of waste, writes the waste industry. A lucrative commodity According to the National Audit Office, waste has become a lucrative international commodity because the waste can contain valuable materials that can be reused. At the same time, treatment has become more expensive in many countries due to stricter environmental regulations. This leads to a lot of waste being exported to developing countries with fewer regulations. – The regulations are crystal clear. We shall not send our waste problems to countries that treat the waste irresponsibly, says Schjøtt-Pedersen. Import and export of waste is mainly regulated through the border crossing regulation. The purpose of the regulations is to protect the environment by ensuring that a country does not export its waste problems to other countries. The regulations set requirements for how the export of waste must be carried out and the requirements depend, among other things, on the type of waste. For the vast majority of waste that is exported out of the country, you are obliged to apply for permission from the authorities before the waste can possibly be exported. The Norwegian Environment Agency is responsible for overseeing waste that leaves Norway, with assistance from the Norwegian Customs Service. Photo: Anette Berentsen / news Few sanctioning authorities The National Audit Office points out that the Ministry of Climate and the Environment must follow up the Norwegian Environment Agency and ensure better control. In addition, they believe that the directorate must be given more and better sanctioning options. The Norwegian Environment Agency writes in an e-mail to news that this is something they are working on. – We agree with the National Audit Office that in several of the cases we should have carried out more investigations, including physical checks after return. We have already taken action and updated internal routines to ensure that this happens in the future, writes section leader Einar Knutsen. The Directorate, for example, does not have the option of issuing a fee for minor infringements. This is a measure that has been working to be introduced since 2014. – This is an illustration that the Norwegian authorities have not given this a high enough priority. This can have major consequences for the environment and people’s health in poor countries. Illegal trade in waste and dumping of hazardous waste imposes large costs on society. This type of crime can cost up to $12 billion worldwide annually, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Interpol. The National Audit Office divides its criticism into three categories: strongly objectionable, objectionable and unsatisfactory. In this case, they believe that it is objectionable.
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The Norwegian authorities do not have good enough control over where the waste ends up – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
