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A businesswoman who likes to call herself the ‘trash queen’ is on trial for illegally dumping mountains of rubbish in Sweden.
It is believed to be the biggest environmental crime case ever in Sweden.
Bella Nelson is one of 11 people charged with environmental crimes.
She was the chief executive of the waste management company ‘NMT Think Pink’. They are accused of dumping or burying 200,000 tonnes of waste in 21 locations between 2015 and 2020.
According to Nelson’s lawyers, he has denied any wrongdoing.
Nielsen refused to answer questions from reporters as he entered Atunda District Court, north of Stockholm.
Prosecutors said the company’s improper disposal of waste resulted in harmful levels of carcinogenic chemicals (cancer-causing chemicals), lead, arsenic (a toxic substance) and mercury entering the air, soil and water. .
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In one such incident, a pile of garbage dumped near the nature reserve caught fire and burned for two months.
Nielsen previously told Swedish media that his company disposed of the waste in accordance with the law.
Prosecutors say the NMT think tank went bankrupt after Bela Nelson’s arrest in 2020 and that the company had neither the intention nor the ability to dispose of the waste in accordance with environmental legislation. .
He further said that the manner in which the garbage was dumped at different places endangered the health of human, animal and plant life.
Thinkpunk was hired by municipalities and private individuals to dispose of everything from construction materials, electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tires and toys, but according to prosecutors, the company left the landfills without a plan. Throw away the ban.
All 11 persons named in the case have denied doing any illegal work.
They include Bela Nelson’s ex-husband Thomas Nelson, whose lawyer says he was chief executive before 2015 and therefore was not in charge during the time the environmental crimes were committed.
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The preliminary investigation of this scandal consisted of 445 thousand pages.
Prosecutor Anders Gustafsson argued that in addition to littering, the accused also used forged documents to mislead authorities and make money.
Several municipalities have claimed 260 million kroner (Swedish currency or $25.4 million) in damages to clean up the waste dumps in their areas and to decontaminate the sites.
Botkerka council, south of Stockholm, has sought 125 million kroner in damages. They say they have spent more than that just on waste removal.
In another incident, toxic fumes from the fire forced residents for miles around to keep their children indoors.
