Former waste disposal boss faces trial in Weiden over dozens of illegal waste shipments to Czech Republic and Poland
The trial of a former managing director and an employee of a Bavarian waste disposal company opens today in Weiden, with charges of repeatedly shipping non‑hazardous and hazardous waste into Czech Republic and Poland since 2024. The ex‑boss also faces counts of dangerous bodily injury over a leaking battery recycling plant.
The charges against the two defendants
The 43‑year‑old former managing director of a Weiden‑based waste disposal company and a 57‑year‑old employee of its Czech branch are jointly accused of 39 instances of illegally transporting non‑hazardous waste, plus two cases involving hazardous waste, to the Czech Republic and Poland. Prosecutors say the men acted persistently and for profit, with the illegal activity stretching back to at least 2024. The ex‑boss alone faces an additional 13 counts of intentional hazardous‑waste shipments, as well as charges of unauthorized facility operation, forgery of documents, and dangerous bodily injury. The injury charge stems from a battery recycling plant that was allegedly leaking; the defendant is accused of failing to shut it down, knowing that employees would inhale health‑endangering substances.
How the court case is unfolding
The trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on June 11 at the Landgericht Weiden, with a verdict expected in September 2026. Approximately 40 witnesses and expert witnesses have been called, including fellow employees, officials from supervisory authorities, and German and Czech police investigators. The proceedings aim to establish the full scale and duration of the cross‑border waste shipments, which involved frequent transports from the firm’s main site in Weiden and a second location in the Schwandorf district to destinations across the border.
The cost of cleaning up
Once the illegal exports came to light, Bavarian authorities ordered around 600 tonnes of waste to be brought back from the Czech Republic. According to a spokeswoman for the Upper Palatinate government, the retrieved material contained glass‑ and carbon‑fiber‑reinforced plastic and parts of lithium‑ion batteries, and the bulk of it was disposed of within Bavaria itself. The total cost of the return and disposal operation reached about €600,000, covering transport fees, disposal charges, site preparation, and engineering services.
The company’s cross‑border footprint
The disposal firm maintained its headquarters in Weiden and an operating base in the neighboring Landkreis Schwandorf. Its Czech subsidiary employed the 57‑year‑old co‑defendant. Since 2024, according to the indictment, the company repeatedly moved waste across the German border into both the Czech Republic and Poland, exploiting the cross‑border setup to evade tighter German disposal rules. The case highlights enforcement challenges in monitoring international waste flows.
