According to the European law enforcement agency, Europol, the volume of illegal waste shipments increased due an exceptional ‘low risk – high profit’ margin for crime organisations. In the EU, the illegal trafficking of waste is particularly rising between countries in North West and North East Europe.

Europol, the European law enforcement agency has monitored an increase in the volume of illegal waste shipments across borders, spurred by economic growth and globalisation. Criminals are exploiting the high costs associated with legal waste management and are making substantial profits from illegal trafficking and disposal activities, circumventing environmental legislation. According to Europol, illegal waste disposal in the EU is organised by sophisticated networks of criminals with a clear division of roles (e.g. collection, transportation, recovery or legal expertise). Affected Member States are substantially affected by the ecological damage, public health risk and the financial burden associated with the retrieval of illegal waste repositories, particularly across borders.

On the 2011 Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA), Europol reported how illicit waste trafficking is often facilitated through cooperation with legitimate businesses, including those in the financial services, import/export and metal recycling sectors, and with specialists engaged in document forgery to acquire permits. Toxic waste is trafficked from Southern to South East Europe and the Western Balkans (Romania, Hungary and Albania), as well as other Member States. Italy has also become a transit point for e-waste (second-hand electrical and electronic equipment) en route to Africa and Asia. There is evidence of corruption in the public and private sectors, in relation to the issuing of certificates by laboratory technicians. Intermediate storage sites are often used to disguise the ultimate destination of waste, which makes it difficult to identify the source companies.

In order to combat this sort of organised crime, Europol and national experts have drawn up a series of recommendations, such as the exchange of best practice between national experts involved in combating illegal waste management in the framework of ‘EnviCrimeNet’ (e.g. using risk profiling to identify potential illegal disposal sites and protecting public officials from the hazards associated with the retrieval of illegal waste repositories), and the adoption of a multi-agency approach during waste transport control operations and visits to suspected illegal waste disposal sites that includes the relevant law enforcement and environmental inspectorates, supported by a regular exchange of information between the relevant policing actors at a national level.