Abruzzo plant seized for waste trafficking

The Carabinieri of the Naples Environmental Protection and Energy Security Group searched a waste treatment plant in Rosciano, Pescara province, Italy. The aim was to identify illegal waste trafficking and unauthorised waste management. The investigation, conducted by the Carabinieri of the Environmental Operations Unit (NOE) of Pescara, revealed that the company owners had orchestrated numerous illicit waste shipments to Slovakia, totalling approximately five thousand tons. The consignments comprised plastic, rubber, textile products, waste generated by the mechanical treatment of waste, unsorted urban waste, and abandoned materials found in rural areas. The waste, which was awaiting transport abroad, was stored in an unprotected outdoor location, in large bags and skip bins, outside the yards. This resulted in the waste being exposed to atmospheric agents, leading to uncontrolled percolation and seepage onto the ground, with the potential for serious soil pollution. The total surface area of the stored waste was approximately 3,100 square metres, constituting an illegal landfill site. As a result, the structure was subjected to a preventive seizure.