It is clear who may have buried thousands of tons of slate in Vilnius: company representatives wonder why the environmentalists who came did not find anything.

Apply to law enforcement

The discovery of asbestos waste buried near the airport has begun to clarify who is responsible for removing it. The Environment Minister then said that it would be clarified with the city of Vilnius how the waste was generated on the plot provided free of charge, and the Vilnius Regional Center for Waste Management would be consulted on a preferential fee for the disposal of these. waste. The Ministry of the Environment also promised to contact the prosecution to find the culprits.

More about that Delphi Environment Minister S. Gentvilas commented: “This parcel was transferred free of charge on behalf of the Vilnius municipality to two companies, one of which is Bionovus. The story is widely described: both the owners and the directors are still active people. Clearly, the company goes bankrupt, then a large part of the landfill is still managed by the general public. Basically, it is the prosecution’s job to find the ultimate culprit. The documents in this case will certainly be provided and that prosecution must be carried out on behalf of the state. “

Delphi After contacting Audrius Vaitkevičius, the former director of Bionovus, reported that the company had a site designated by the municipality for the construction waste landfill and a permit to dispose of asbestos waste in that area, and that asbestos Buried did not exceed the IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control).

According to him, the construction waste landfill was managed by the company during the entire period of operation from 2002 to 2016 in strict compliance with the applicable permits and procedures and under the constant supervision of the control authorities, and no damage was caused. to the nature .

“It should be understood that when it comes to the asbestos abatement situation, it is the landfill that is being discussed, not the other site. Currently, hundreds of thousands of tons of construction waste are buried in the landfill according to the current requirements. Therefore, it does not make sense to think about the damage to nature, because nature has not suffered any damage. If the responsible authorities, due to the possible development of neighboring sites, order the transfer of asbestos waste from a point of the landfill to another, after coordinating all the actions, this transfer would take several days ”, commented A. Vaitkevičius.

According to the former head of the company, Bionovus’ work and asbestos levels were inspected up to fourteen times during the operation of the company by the responsible authorities, who did not find any infraction in the disposal of hazardous waste.

According to the territorial planning documents, the Vilnius City Council in 2000 July 4 has approved a detailed plan for a small-scale construction waste dump in Kuprioniškės. The documents establish that the method of use of the territory is a landfill (crushing, processing, classification and storage-accumulation of construction waste).

Should be moved

Currently, Giedrius Masalskis, director of Vilnius’ BDT waste recycling company, says that since 2002, there has been a recycling site for construction waste and asbestos-containing materials in the area. According to him, 2 sites for asbestos waste disposal were planned, one of them, right at the place where a large amount of asbestos waste was found.

“I can’t say if the burial site was badly marked or if the boundaries of the parcels have changed in almost 20 years. I don’t know why a private parcel was formed near the construction waste landfill or if the parcel owners were informed about the asbestos buried in the landfill, but the debris should be removed from the private parcel as soon as possible. “The fastest, safest option, without harm to nature or human beings and, in my opinion, the most optimal option is to return the asbestos spilled on a private site to the actual disposal site in accordance with the IPPC permit. for asbestos waste, it has already been accepted, “he said.

Mr. Masalskis also sees no harm to the environment. According to him, only asbestos dust, which is formed by breaking, cutting or scrubbing asbestos, is dangerous for humans and not dangerous if not mechanically treated.

“Lithuanian residents over 40 grew up at home with asbestos slate roofs or asbestos slate covered balconies. Asbestos is a natural mineral from the earth, an inert material, it is also natural in Lithuania, and in mountainous areas its deposits rise to the surface and are exploited by mining. It cannot be washed with water, it does not evaporate and burying it underground does not harm nature. The only way I know of how to remove asbestos across Europe is to bury it underground, thus avoiding possible asbestos dust, ”commented the CEO.

Will present an invoice

Delphi The environment minister, who participated in the fair, also announced plans to present bills that would strengthen control over companies’ activities.

“In a month’s time, we will probably submit bills to the Seimas so there are no more bankrupt phoenixes and waste managers in the same place, having fires or just running out of money. Adequate amounts of bank guarantees and insurance will be required. Unlike the Alytus case, there were 18,000. more than one and a half million euros has already been paid out of the state’s pocket just for losses to surrounding businesses and agriculture. Those guarantees must be adequate, and then companies will not want to go bankrupt on equal terms, and we will not have one-day waste managers that accumulate in a warehouse and go bankrupt, after which a new one is put into operation. business. These “business” models abound in the environment, “said S. Gentvilas.

The Minister pointed out that the non-hazardous waste landfill in the Vilnius region receives no more than 2.5 thousand tons of waste per year. tons of asbestos-containing waste, so the amount of this waste buried in the territory of the Liepkalnis Industrial Park is equal to the 4-year landfill waste acceptance rate.

More information about the program on the topic of Delphi.