Police investigate 180 tons of Italian plastic waste dumped on Czech fields

Police are investigating the illegal dumping of approximately 180 tons of shredded plastic waste from Italy on fields near Hořovice in Central Bohemia, regional officials said Tuesday.

Seven trucks delivered waste to two sites in Cerhovice and Újezd during the summer. One driver was intercepted while unloading, and officials discovered that the accompanying documents had been falsified.

The waste has since been moved to temporary storage and is awaiting return to Italy, Marie Stáňová, head of waste management at the regional environment department, told reporters.

The shipment was presented as waste being transported to Czechia for processing. However, signatures attributed to the receiving waste facility were forged, Stáňová said.

She also described the purported Czech transport company that arranged the deliveries as fictitious. The foreign carrier may not have known about the scheme, she added, because it had simply received instructions about where to unload.

That assessment remains separate from the police investigation, which has not publicly established responsibility.

Samples identified contaminated shredded plastic that could have polluted the soil if left in place for an extended period. Officials did not report confirmed soil contamination.

The region helped manage the removal because the local authority lacked sufficient capacity and experience to handle the incident.

Stáňová said the carrier agreed to remove some of the waste, while regional authorities paid to move the remainder. Transport cost tens of thousands of crowns; disposal would have been substantially more expensive.

The Environment Ministry is now handling arrangements for the waste’s return to its country of origin.

The case forms part of a wider problem with illegal dumping in Central Bohemia. Stáňová said officials were dealing with approximately five large unauthorized sites, including one in Hostivice near Prague.

There, trucks have been delivering soil and rubble to rented land. Inspectors encountered an unidentified worker who refused to name the operator or the companies making deliveries, she said. Police are also investigating that site.

Regional environment councilor Jindřiška Romba said Central Bohemia would seek legislative changes to speed up removals and strengthen municipal and regional powers.

The proposals include allowing designated municipal authorities to remove waste from private property more quickly and recover costs from those responsible. The region also wants financial support from the State Environmental Fund when perpetrators cannot be identified.

Another proposal would allow regional authorities to impose fines for waste-related offenses, alongside municipal authorities that already hold that power.

These are proposed changes, rather than measures already adopted. Regional representatives intend to raise them with the Association of Regions and lawmakers.

Stáňová declined to discuss possible criminal penalties in the Hořovice case while the investigation continues. Separately, officials said an administrative fine of up to CZK 10 million can apply when responsibility for unauthorized dumping is established.

For now, the waste has been removed from the fields, but its return to Italy and the determination of responsibility remain outstanding.