Swedish firm dumps waste near sensitive water protection area

The dumping has occurred at Lindormsnäs, adjacent to a water protection area in Uppsalaåsen, since 2018, with trucks shuttling to the site on behalf of the company CR Concrete Recycling. According to the company, the purpose has been to restore a gravel pit and plant noble hardwood forest. However, the environmental unit of Upplands-Bro municipality and the Nature Conservation Association have criticized the operation, which has been able to continue despite recurring criticism.

The operation has been stopped and questioned in several rounds by both Upplands-Bro municipality and the County Administrative Board of Stockholm County. In 2018, the then chairman of the building and environment committee, Börje Wredén, together with the company's CEO, attended a meeting with the county administrative board, which had stopped the operation, despite supervision matters typically being handled by officials, not politicians. The matter has been tried in court several times, with the Land and Environment Court overturning an earlier ban in 2021 and sending it back to the municipality for new consideration. In March, the court gave the green light, assessing that the risk of pollution is low based partly on the company's own sampling, but noted the company took in more material than reported, with about 154,000 cubic meters reported and an additional approximately 100,000 cubic meters placed according to the municipality. The decision has been appealed, and what actually exists in the materials and how it has been handled remains disputed.

A truck driver testifies that leaking hydraulic oil was buried at the site instead of cleaned up. In an SMS, the CEO of CR Concrete Recycling responded to the criticism by referring to the Land and Environment Court's ruling and said he is not aware of the information from the truck driver. It all started in 2018 when CR Concrete Recycling AB reported wanting to restore the gravel pit at Lindormsnäs.