Activities of organised crime in the area of cross-border waste shipments - a case study

Abstract

Technological advances and rapid global population growth are degrading the environment. One of the problems is the growing amount of waste, which affects people's lives and health while posing a threat to the natural economy. Waste is generated in industry, agriculture and households. Considering their properties, they can be flammable, irritant, car-cinogenic, toxic, mutagenic, corrosive, infectious or having a harmful effect on reproduction.Internationally, environmental degradation has begun to become such a serious problem that there have been pro-posals to deal with acts that harm the environment as an environmental crime. Efforts in this respect began in 2010 and are being pursued by lawyers from around the world. .The purpose of this article is primarily to introduce the mechanism used by one of the criminal groups in Poland, whose activities adversely affected the environment. In addition, the irregularities that occurred and the legal qualifications of the crimes accompanying waste management will be presented. The source base for writing the article was information obtained from the Tarnów Regional Prosecutor's Office, which is conducting the case, as well as from scientific studies and newspaper articles.