Lithuanian Investigators Decline Probe into Vilnius Region Waste Handling

Lithuania's Special Investigation Service (STT) has decided not to initiate a pre-trial investigation into the directive that all mixed municipal waste from the Vilnius region be transported to the Kazokiškės landfill. This decision comes after the Vilnius Regional Waste Management Center (VAATC) and the Vilnius City Emergency Operations Chief implemented the measure during a waste crisis in the capital.

The Elektrėnai municipality had appealed to the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor's Office, which then tasked the STT with investigating the circumstances surrounding the potential illegal transport and disposal of untreated mixed municipal waste. The municipality argued that the decision to divert all regional waste to Kazokiškės was made without consulting Elektrėnai representatives and without assessing the potential environmental and public health impacts.

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Such a decision was made because no data was found that objectively confirms that public servants or persons equivalent to them, while performing their assigned functions, abused their official position or exceeded their powers.

However, in a decision dated July 27, the STT declined to open a pre-trial investigation. The service stated that it found no data to objectively confirm that public servants or equivalent individuals abused their official position or exceeded their authority. Furthermore, the STT reported that no factual data was found regarding violations of environmental protection or natural resource usage rules that led to dangerous consequences.

The prosecutor's office confirmed the STT's decision as lawful and justified in early August. The situation arose in July when Vilnius municipality decided to temporarily send all regional mixed waste to Kazokiškės. This move was quickly met with resistance from Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius, who criticized the unilateral decision and stated that Elektrėnai municipality might not accept the waste. The Kazokiškės landfill has been under an emergency situation since March due to hydrogen sulfide pollution, with concentrations in the air reportedly exceeding normal levels by four times in July.

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Also, no factual data was established about specific violations of environmental protection or natural resource usage rules stipulated in legal acts, which would have caused dangerous consequences.