Stockholm, Sweden | AFP
A court in Sweden will rule Tuesday in the country’s biggest environmental crime trial, where a self-proclaimed “Queen of Trash” and four others stand accused of illegally dumping toxic waste.
The once-acclaimed waste management company Think Pink is accused of dumping or burying some 200,000 tonnes of waste from the Stockholm area at 21 sites from 2015 to 2020, with no intention of processing it correctly.
Prosecutors have called for six-year prison sentences against the five, who have denied the charges.
The Sodertorn district court is due to announce the verdict at 11:00 am (0900 GMT).
Think Pink’s former chief executive Bella Nilsson, an ex-stripper who once called herself the “Queen of Trash”, is charged with “aggravated environmental crime”.
Two others who also served as chief executive at times — Nilsson’s ex-husband Thomas Nilsson, who founded the company, and Leif-Ivan Karlsson, an eccentric entrepreneur who starred in a reality show about his over-the-top lifestyle — face the same charge and possible sentence.
As do “waste broker” Robert Silversten and Tobias Gustafsson, accused of organising the transportation of the waste.
Bella Nilsson — who has now changed her name to Fariba Vancor — told the court Think Pink “followed the law”.
Her lawyer Thomas Olsson rejected the prosecution’s claim the company used falsified documents to mislead authorities, and said any wrongdoing was “by mistake”.
Bella Nilsson has insisted she is the victim of a plot by business rivals.
The prosecution has also sought a three-year sentence against an environmental consultant accused of helping the company pass inspections, as well as sentences of between eight and 18 months for five landowners.
Flaming waste piles
Think Pink was hired by municipalities, construction companies, apartment co-operatives and private individuals to dispose of primarily building materials but also electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tyres and toys.
But Think Pink left the piles of waste unsorted and abandoned, the court heard.
Prosecutors said high levels of toxic PCB compounds, lead, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals had been released into the air, soil and water, endangering the health of human, animal and plant life.
Several municipalities have sought damages for clean-up and decontamination costs, totalling 260 million kronor ($27 million).
One of the biggest claims is from the Botkyrka city council, where two Think Pink waste piles burned for months in 2020 and 2021 after spontaneously combusting. One was near two nature reserves.
The Kagghamra site, buried under sand to extinguish the fire, has only recently stopped burning.
Tests will soon be conducted on the toxic waste before politicians decide what to do with it.
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