Denmark’s Nordic Waste scandal grinds on amid claim and counterclaim
Local authority Randers Municipality has filed a police complaint against soil treatment company Nordic Waste, arguing it bears sole responsibility for an environmentally hazardous landslide.
East Jutland Police have confirmed that a report against beleaguered company Nordic Waste has been file by Randers Municipality.
The dispute between Nordic Waste and the local administration is at the centre of fallout over contaminated earth from the company which threatens to damage natural environments in the Randers area.
A December landslide at the Nordic Waste soil treatment centre in Ølst, near Randers, threatens to pollute the nearby Alling Å and possibly also Randers Fjord.
After the landslide, Nordic Waste filed for bankruptcy, which could mean that the bill for the clean-up ends up with taxpayers.
Randers Municipality earlier this week presented an investigation by its lawyers, which placed legal responsibility for the landslide solely with Nordic Waste.
But the scandal has become increasingly complex, with the central government also involved and having confirmed it will investigate Randers Municipality, as well as Nordic Waste, for culpability.
READ ALSO:
- EXPLAINED: What is Denmark’s Nordic Waste scandal and why is a billionaire in the spotlight?
- Nordic Waste: Denmark opens probe into contaminated soil landslide
“We will now review the complaint and decide what will happen next,” police said in a brief statement on social media X.
“We are aware of the high public interest in this case but we do not have further information at the current time. We will make a statement when there is news on this case,” they said.
A probe by Randers Municipality’s lawyers into Nordic Waste concluded on Monday that the company was responsible for the landslide. The local authority then stated its intention to file a police report against the company, arguing that the gradient of the contaminated earth piles at the company’s facility were too steep.
The company itself denies acting in breach of the necessary environmental permits issued to it by Randers Municipality. It has also claimed that a number of the municipality’s reports from inspections at the facility in the years prior to the landslide are unreliable, according to reporting by newspaper Børsen.
The municipality has admitted it could have better conducted environmental inspections of the facility, but says that liability for the landslide is solely Nordic Waste’s.
In Copenhagen, the government has appointed its civil lawyer, Kammeradvokaten, to investigate whether the leadership or others connected to the soil treatment company can face economic responsibility or legal sanctions for the landslide, and later announced it will also probe Randers Municipality’s role in the scandal.
A key question in political and public debate over the scandal rests on the moral, rather than legal responsibility for the landslide and potential environmental damage.
In this regard, attention has been focused on billionaire Torben Østergaard-Nielsen and his two daughters, who are the owners of the bankruptcy-declared company.
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East Jutland Police have confirmed that a report against beleaguered company Nordic Waste has been file by Randers Municipality.
The dispute between Nordic Waste and the local administration is at the centre of fallout over contaminated earth from the company which threatens to damage natural environments in the Randers area.
A December landslide at the Nordic Waste soil treatment centre in Ølst, near Randers, threatens to pollute the nearby Alling Å and possibly also Randers Fjord.
After the landslide, Nordic Waste filed for bankruptcy, which could mean that the bill for the clean-up ends up with taxpayers.
Randers Municipality earlier this week presented an investigation by its lawyers, which placed legal responsibility for the landslide solely with Nordic Waste.
But the scandal has become increasingly complex, with the central government also involved and having confirmed it will investigate Randers Municipality, as well as Nordic Waste, for culpability.
READ ALSO:
- EXPLAINED: What is Denmark’s Nordic Waste scandal and why is a billionaire in the spotlight?
- Nordic Waste: Denmark opens probe into contaminated soil landslide
“We will now review the complaint and decide what will happen next,” police said in a brief statement on social media X.
“We are aware of the high public interest in this case but we do not have further information at the current time. We will make a statement when there is news on this case,” they said.
A probe by Randers Municipality’s lawyers into Nordic Waste concluded on Monday that the company was responsible for the landslide. The local authority then stated its intention to file a police report against the company, arguing that the gradient of the contaminated earth piles at the company’s facility were too steep.
The company itself denies acting in breach of the necessary environmental permits issued to it by Randers Municipality. It has also claimed that a number of the municipality’s reports from inspections at the facility in the years prior to the landslide are unreliable, according to reporting by newspaper Børsen.
The municipality has admitted it could have better conducted environmental inspections of the facility, but says that liability for the landslide is solely Nordic Waste’s.
In Copenhagen, the government has appointed its civil lawyer, Kammeradvokaten, to investigate whether the leadership or others connected to the soil treatment company can face economic responsibility or legal sanctions for the landslide, and later announced it will also probe Randers Municipality’s role in the scandal.
A key question in political and public debate over the scandal rests on the moral, rather than legal responsibility for the landslide and potential environmental damage.
In this regard, attention has been focused on billionaire Torben Østergaard-Nielsen and his two daughters, who are the owners of the bankruptcy-declared company.
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