The punishment for illegal disposal of waste should deter from malicious actions when forests and quarries become the dumping grounds of unmanaged municipal waste.

The dumping of non-hazardous waste from five to 15 cubic metres in volume will result in a fine from EUR 3,900 to 8,400 for legal persons. A repeated offence will result in a fine from EUR 4,800 to 11,000.

The dumping of hazardous waste from five to seven cubic metres will result in a fine from EUR 22,000 to 39,000 for legal persons. A repeated offence will result in a fine from EUR 39,000 to 84,000, according to a statement released by the Seimas.

Regarding natural persons, it has been agreed to stiffen liability by decreasing waste volume limits. Currently, illegal waste disposal is fineable from five cubic metres, but the upper limit had not been determined. Following amendments, the upper limit for non-hazardous waste shall be 15 cubic metres, and seven cubic metres for hazardous waste. Exceeding this limit will result in criminal liability.

The amendments will come into effect on 1 January 2024.

In accordance with the new provisions, the illegal disposal of over 15 cubic metres of non-hazardous waste without having caused any major damage and other adverse outcomes to the environment shall be punishable by fine, or restriction of freedom, or arrest, or up to three years in prison. The illegal disposal of over seven cubic metres of hazardous waste shall be punishable by fine, or restriction of freedom, or arrest, or up to four years in prison, as per a press release.

According to Chairperson of the Committee on Environment Protection Aiste Gedviliene, the amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection have been made due to changes in the Criminal Code. They came into force in July and were implemented by the President and Environment Minister after media had disclosed facts about waste mafia in Lithuania, i.e. companies that make money by collecting waste from people, but instead of properly managing it, illegally dump the waste in forests, etc.

"Stricter punishments, including jail time, were introduced into the Criminal Code, but there was no clear transition between offences and fines regulated by the Law on Environmental Protection and the Criminal Code. For this reason, the Committee on Legal Affairs, when considering changes to the Criminal Code, ruled that transitional legislation had to be adopted that would clarify and establish clear administrative liabilities for large amounts of waste disposed into the environment. Jurists obligated us to distinguish between administrative and criminal liability," Gedviliene said.

Lukas Andronavicius, Director of Commerce at Toksika, which collects hazardous waste all over Lithuania, said that the stricter liability should serve as a preventative measure and ensure that the requirements of legal acts are followed and that waste is not disposed of illegally.

According to him, hazardous waste should be transferred to waste managers that have the right to manage it, and to no one else. "This is a licensed type of activity, not just any company can do it, only waste managers, so people should first of all check if companies have all the required licenses. This activity is regulated by various legal acts to ensure that such waste is collected properly and stored and disposed of safely.

Residents can bring hazardous and non-hazardous waste to large waste collection sites. Companies have to conclude contracts with waste carriers and transfer waste to waste managers.

Not everyone agrees with such strict sanctions. Member of the Seimas Kestutis Mazeika noted that, in accordance with the new amendments, criminal liability would be applicable quite often.

He suggested remembering the recent example of Kretinga – when trying to manage excess flood waters in the town’s treatment plant, a pipe was opened to release partially treated water into the environment. According to Mazeika, if more than 15 cubic meters on non-hazardous wastewater had been released, the people responsible would be criminally liable.

Another example, he added, is farmers fertilizing their fields. If they use manure in quantities indicated in the amendment, and environmentalists determine environmental damage, farmers could also get jail time.

"When we talk about waste mafia, it should be stated that the employees who dump waste into the environment are socially vulnerable – it’s their job, they get paid for it, and they will be imprisoned, not their bosses who told them to do so. It is possible that such employees simply have no other choice or even are misled and bring waste to, for example, quarries that appear as legal dumpsites," he added.

The member of the Seimas said that imprisoned polluters would have to be maintained, too.

"I think that, first of all, economic sanctions should be applied because inmates mean additional costs to the state, and this also means that damage to the environment will not be compensated. Our main goal has to be damage recovery and compensation. The main objective is prevention, then – the identification of offenders and damage compensation, and only in special cases, like with Grigeo, we should consider criminal liability," he continued.

"We have examples – I think this happened in Vilkaviskis District – when construction waste was used as a road base, and the person didn’t know that bricks and blocks over 5 cm in diameter are considered waste and damaging to the environment. So, by dumping a few trailers of such construction waste to make the base of a new road, which may be later covered with asphalt or slabs, the person would go to jail. Is this a logical outcome? I don’t think so," Mazeika concluded.