Whether we're diligent separators or hurl everything in landfill, few people consider that their trash will become treasure for Europe's criminal gangs.

But that's the reality across the continent, with the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol, warning that "waste trafficking is intensifying with a projected further growth in scale and sophistication" in their 2025 "Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment." Despite that, Europol refused to answer a series of questions from DW on the matter, citing other priorities. 

Much of this intensification comes from criminal gangs, according to Europol. These operate by finding ways to bypass domestic and commercial waste disposal contracts, exploiting those open to corruption at all stages of the waste disposal process, falsifying documents and crossing borders to take advantage of slacker law enforcement. It is a black market Europol describe as "low-risk high-profit margin" for criminals.

These groups are a mix of traditional organized crime networks and opportunistic legal businesses exploiting inefficiencies and loopholes, causing a significant headache for the various EU agencies responsible for enforcement of environmental crime.

Illegal waste trade worth billions in EU

The issue was highlighted recently by the discovery of an enormous mountain of garbage hidden away close to the Thames River in Oxfordshire, England. On Wednesday, it was reported that the 6-meter (20-foot) high pile contained evidence of waste from schools and local authorities, suggesting abuse of waste management contracts with state institutions and sub-contracted legitimate companies.

But this is not a problem limited to the UK. Reliable statistics for a market such as this are tough to come by, but the EU's anti-fraud office, OLAF, estimated last year that "15% to 30% of all waste shipments might be illegal; the value of this trade could reach up to €9.5 billion [$11 billion] annually." The EU ships about 67 million tons of legal waste per year within its borders and exports 35.1 million tons outside the EU under legitimate agreements.

"Hazardous or improperly managed waste can contaminate soil, water, and air, and its uncontrolled movement across borders undermines the EU's transition to a greener, more sustainable economy," the organization's press office told DW. "It also gives an unfair advantage to criminal networks over law-abiding businesses."

Greener economies have created criminal opportunities

Waste management in the EU is governed by the Waste Framework Directive, which was updated in October. It operates on the basis that the original waste producer must pay for the cost of waste management. Member states must report to the European Commission at least once every two years and write new waste management plans every six years.

Enforcement is problematic. The Commission is broadly responsible for enforcement but relies on agencies in each country as well as OLAF, Europol and a number of other national and EU agencies.

Further muddying the waters is the fact that not all waste is equal. With Europe increasingly moving toward a greener economy, some materials now attract high treatment costs before they can be safely and legally disposed of.

This include electronics (WEEE), vehicles (ELVs), fluorinated gases, textiles and low-grade plastics. Criminals operating in Europe, who employ industry experts as part of their organization, will often recycle and sell what they can and dump the rest, often in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa.

Hazardous waste, from construction or the medical industry for example, is a little different. This is sometimes blended with other materials to turn it in to something sellable but still dangerous, or transferred to facilities who will illegally dispose of it without consideration for environmental and health impacts.

Sophisticated criminal networks

In February, 13 people were arrested in Croatia for importing 35,000 tons of hazardous waste from Italy, Slovenia and Germany. Europol, the arresting authority, said the waste was "simply buried or dumped in at least three locations" rather than being disposed of properly.

The organized gang involved are estimated to have made €4 million and accused of using a network of legal businesses to move the waste, making profit by cutting corners and avoiding the charges associated with toxic waste.

"Networks specialize in falsifying paperwork, organizing complex transport routes, using front companies, and mixing legal and illegal waste streams to avoid detection," Alexandra Ghenea, of Romanian nonprofit ECOTECA, told DW. "Romania has seen cases involving cross-border networks, with waste arriving from countries such as Italy, Germany, the UK and Belgium, often falsely declared as recyclable material."

Sometimes though, as in Oxfordshire, it's easier for people to just dispose of the waste in the simplest way they think they can get away with. This was also the case in the Romanian suburb of Sintesti in July, where the illegal burning of recyclable materials caused a wildfire that came close to spreading to the suburbs of the capital, Bucharest. The Eastern European country has long had an issue with illegal waste. 

"This region is emblematic, with repeated fires generating toxic smoke, severe air pollution, and highlighting gaps in monitoring, policing and local governance," said Ghenea. "Importantly, Romania's problem is not the absence of legislation — the legal framework is aligned with EU standards. The core weakness is enforcement, both in capacity (staff, equipment, expertise) and in consistency."

Enforcement proving elusive

While EU member countries are aligned on laws and standards in this area, the Romanian case highlights how each can have wildly differing challenges — and the difficulty of enforcing such directives in a continent where traveling across borders is simple. 

"Law enforcement has invested sufficient resources in this area in only a few Member States," Europol admitted in a 2022 report. "As a large part of the environmental crime activities are carried out by legal businesses, they are often labelled as corporate crimes (or ‘white collar' crimes). The fact that criminal networks largely use businesses makes these offences less visible."

This is one of the weaknesses exploited by those making a profit from endangering people's health and the environment. As Europe tries to move toward becoming a greener continent, it continues to grapple with those whose concerns are only financial.

Edited by: Martin Kuebler