Innsbruck has been cleaning up an illegal waste dump for months. A total of 54,000 tons of material must be removed. Because the company that would actually be responsible for this is bankrupt, the eviction is initially financed with taxpayers’ money.
A waste treatment facility had actually been approved at the Feldstrasse site, but instead of recycling the waste and treating it using state-of-the-art technology, it was simply dumped. The landfill has existed in this form “since approximately 2019,” the city explains, “and the director has not missed any opportunity to delay official procedures.”
For the time being, the state pays and coordinates
At the end of August, the waste removal finally started. It is one of the largest expulsions in all of Austria. A Tyrolean company was commissioned to do this through a tender. The Ministry of Climate Protection is currently bearing the estimated costs of three million euros because the responsible company did not carry out the evacuation.
Although liable for risks and costs, the company is currently in insolvency proceedings and is insolvent. The ministry has a budget for such cases. The costs have already been registered in the insolvency proceedings.
Problematic material saved
The illegal waste dump must be cleaned up by the end of this year. Mayor Georg Willi (Greens) hopes that there will be no more surprises. So far, soil contaminated with fuel has been found, as well as numerous asphalt clods. “Both materials are not without problems for the environment and must be disposed of separately after chemical analysis,” the city explains. There are also other hazardous substances at the landfill, mainly various construction waste and excavated material.
And: On the adjacent site there is another landfill owned by the company and which is currently the subject of legal proceedings. Once completed, this landfill will likely also be cleaned up next year.
Source: Krone
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