The soil contamination poses a threat to the drinking water supply and risks spreading via several rivers towards the Kattegat. Soil remediation company Nordic Waste is one of the largest specialized soil processors in the north of the country, with storage piles reaching over 70 meters in height in some places. A report estimates that three million cubic meters of soil – weighing approximately 5 million tons – are moving downhill at nearly 10 meters per day.
At Nordic Waste, soil from cleared mass graves of mink and fur animals from Denmark and Norway was stored, following the mass cullings during the COVID-19 period. The company is owned by a very wealthy Danish family but filed for bankruptcy shortly after the dike breach.
Now the costs of the cleanup risk falling on the shoulders of the public. With ongoing uncertainty about who will ultimately be responsible for expenses and damages, the situation surrounding Nordic Waste remains a heated topic in Denmark.
Denmark has reacted with shock to the magnitude of the problems around Nordic Waste. It not only impacts the environment but also raises questions about the effectiveness of environmental protection and regulation in Denmark. While local authorities and environmental agencies work to contain the leaks, calls for stricter regulations are growing.
Political parties are considering moving environmental inspections for such depots away from municipalities and scaling them up to provincial or national levels. There is even talk of revoking previously granted municipal environmental approvals in response to the Nordic Waste scandal.
A TV2 report showed that the director of Nordic Waste has also resigned from the board of Sund & Bælt, the company behind the Great Belt Bridge. The billionaire is heavily criticized because the bankruptcy limits his accountability. Further controversy surrounds the fact that his other companies are claiming many millions from the bankrupt Nordic Waste.
In the aftermath of this crisis, Denmark appears to face a turning point in its approach to environmental protection. The Nordic Waste scandal has not only exposed vulnerabilities in the current system but also heightened the urgency to elevate environmental management to a higher level.