A working group focussed on tackling waste crime, in particular, exploring the major causes of non-compliance with the Waste Shipment Regulation (1013/2006) and the issues these create for efficient and effective prosecution and adjudication. This includes the practical effects of the amendment to the Waste Shipment Regulation (implemented in May 2014) as seen by prosecutors and judges. The group has operated from 2016-19 and its outputs, in 2020, will comprise:
- a written report on the barriers and solutions to effectively tackling offences under the Waste Shipment Regulation, in particular the issues prosecutors and judges encounter in practice in interpretation and practical application of that Regulation
- presentations on the working group’s interim and final findings as delivered by the group at the ENPE annual conferences
- training materials addressing the matters set out above, and including:
- training presentations
- case studies
- guidance on minimum standards and best practice
- a database of European waste crime cases
Membership
This Working Group comprises 8 specialist prosecutors from 7 different countries and has met around 3 times per year, including at the annual conference:
Mr Rob de Rijck (Netherlands) - Chair
Kristina Persson (Sweden)
Antonio Vercher (Spain)
Elisabete Matos (Portugal) - replacing Leonora Mullett (Ireland) who left in 2019
Joaquim Morgado (Portugal)
Howard McCann (England, UK)
Marc Van Cauteren (Belgium)
Katerina Weissova (Czech Republic)
WG2 activities & outputs
Final Report now available - August 2020
The Final Report for LIFE-ENPE Working Group 2 (Waste crime) has been published and is available as a pdf below. The report includes details of all of the groups activities since December 2017 as well as details of all outreach activities including awareness raising and training materials.
Illegal Pesticides - proposed ENPE workshop spring 2023
The use of Illegal pesticides in Europe is a growing problem and one that involves many areas of environmental crime. The Europol coordinated Operation Silver Axe V led, in 2020 , to the seizure of 1 346 tonnes of illegal pesticides. This quantity could be enough to spray 207 000 km2, or more than all the farmland in Germany which accounts for nearly half the country, almost 75% of farmland in France or more than 150% of the farmland of Romania. Illegal profits are huge. (https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/record-number-of-1-346-tonnes-of-illegal-pesticides-taken-market-in-2020-global-operation-silver-axe).
These figures leave no doubt that criminal law has a role to play in this. A recent questionnaire completed by the waste crime Working Group within the ENPE network confirmed the urgency of the matter. Several dozen prosecutors and other colleagues expressed their interest in going more deeply into the subject, for example, to study case law, exchange practices etc.
Therefore, ENPE intends to organise a Workshop on Criminal law and illegal pesticides in Spring 2021, to be hosted and directed by Rob de Rijck, national coordinating prosecutor for environmental criminal law in the Netherlands, and Rien van Diesen of Europol and the Dutch Inspectorate for Food and Product Safety. More detailed information to follow.
Waste Shipment Regulation webinar
Kristina Persson, in conjunction with Rob de Rijck and Lars Magnusson, recently completed a webinar which provides guidance on interpretation of the WSR and follows on from the WSR training animation which was first delivered at the WG2 workshop in Nicosia in March 2019 and subsequently shown at the ENPE annual conference in The Hague. Please see below to access the webinar which is also available via the ENPE website home page.
Waste Shipment Regulation training animation
Developed, scripted and produced by Rob de Rijck and colleagues, this short training animation is an excellent overview and summary of the WSR. It has been shared widely and received much praise and is available below.
Working Group 2 contribution to the Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the Waste Shipment Regulation
The Working Group, under the direction of its Chair Mr Rob de Rijck, and with full contribution from all of its members, recently provided a collated ENPE contribution to the recent EU Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the Waste Shipment Regulations. The multi-national composition of the group, together with its unique specialism, facilitated a comprehensive and truly pan-European response which we look forward to hearing more about in due course. The contribution is available as a pdf below.
For more details on this Working Group, including activities from 2017, the presentation delivered at the ENPE annual conferences and the WSR consultation, please see the interim reports below.
