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Summary for: German waste boss jailed over illegal shipments dumped in CzechiaA German court sentenced the former head of waste company Roth International to four and a half years in prison Thursday over illegal waste shipments that left hundreds of tons of material at sites in Czechia.
The court in Weiden, Bavaria, also convicted a Czech truck driver who helped organize the transports, handing him a suspended two-year prison sentence.
Waste from the company was found in Jiříkov in the Bruntál district and Brno’s Horní Heršpice neighborhood. German authorities subsequently arranged its removal, but recovering the cleanup costs could prove difficult: Roth International is insolvent.
The verdict is not final, and both sides can appeal.
Hundreds of tons shipped without permits
The court found that the company’s 43-year-old former managing director organized 30 unauthorized waste shipments to Czechia and Poland from 2024 onward.
He was convicted of 13 offenses involving hazardous waste and 17 involving waste not classified as hazardous.
The 57-year-old Czech defendant helped organize 20 transports, acting as a link to other Czech nationals, according to the court. His convictions covered two hazardous-waste shipments and 18 involving nonhazardous material.
Across the case, the illegally exported material totaled 760 tons: approximately 620 tons of fiberglass and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, plus 140 tons of batteries and related waste products.
Roth International, based in Weiden with an operating site in nearby Wernberg-Köblitz, specialized in dismantling aircraft and wind turbines. The Czech recipient was Piroplastik.
Trucks delivered waste to Jiříkov in December 2024 without the required permits. Material from the same German company was subsequently discovered in Brno.
German authorities arrested the former managing director in August 2025. The Czech defendant was also detained but later released from custody. Prosecutors charged both men in March this year.
Germany arranged removal, but costs remain unresolved
The regional government of Upper Palatinate, the Bavarian administrative region responsible for the case, took charge of removing the waste from the Czech sites.
A contractor appointed by German authorities removed approximately 300 tons from Jiříkov in autumn 2025.
Another 35 tons were taken from Brno-Horní Heršpice in December, followed by a further 282 tons in February this year.
Bavarian authorities intend to recover the removal costs from Roth International, which entered insolvency in March 2025. The announcement did not specify the total cleanup bill.
The former managing director had also faced a separate allegation that employees suffered health damage because he failed to shut down leaking battery-recycling equipment despite knowing about the defect.
The court discontinued that part of the proceedings during the trial at prosecutors’ request. Thursday’s convictions concerned the illegal waste exports.
