A number of 17 trucks operating illegal garbage imports were denied entry on the Romanian territory in the week of June 13-17, on the western border of the country, G4media.ro reported. The report covers Nadlac and Bors checkpoints with Hungary.

The Romanian National Environmental Guard said that the shipments came from other European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland). The recipients were from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

However, at the country's southern border, trucks coming from Greece and Bulgaria were reported as transporting illegal garbage to Romanian recipients.

Following the controls at the Nadlac checkpoint, 11 trucks of non-compliant waste containing 178.4 tons of waste (contaminated aluminium, used household items, respectively clothing, shoes, and used furniture) were forbidden entry.

For five other trucks, containing non-compliant waste (textiles, glass, plastics mixed with municipal waste), entry into the territory of Romania was prohibited at Bors checkpoint, and for another transport, a criminal complaint was filed.

Romania has been struggling for years to solve its waste problem but is still among the EU countries with the lowest recycling rates and most waste deposited into landfills. However, news about illegal waste imports frequently surfaces in the local media and the issue has been widely covered by international media as well.

Read more: BBC: Why does Romania, a country overflowing with rubbish, import more from abroad?

(Photo: Garda Nationala de Mediu/ Facebook Page)

andrei@romania-insider.com