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How hazardous waste from Germany ended up in a Czech village

Karl Harenbrock in Jirikov, Czech Republic
April 24, 2025

German companies dumped hazardous waste in the small Czech village of Jirikov, which has no facilities to recycle trash like crushed car batteries, shredded hard drives and wind turbine blades. So how did they get here?

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Jirikov, a Czech village, has been discovered to contain hazardous waste. Torn wind turbine rotor blades are among the trash that endangers the environment. 


Locals had been misinformed about the site, believing it would house a recycling factory.  


According to investigations, German and Czech companies were implicated in the illicit disposal, which was concealed through the use of letterbox firms and fake documentation.

The state government of Bavaria agreed to reclaim the garbage after the German company in charge of waste disposal went bankrupt. Innovative recycling methods, such as those developed by the Fraunhofer Institute and Novu Tech, will now process the used rotor blades in an eco-friendly manner.

 

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