Five people were sentenced to prison, and damages of almost SEK 200 million were awarded for a total of 19 environmental crimes, 18 of them serious. That was the outcome when the Svea Court of Appeal delivered its verdict in the environmental scandal surrounding Think Pink. When the Supreme Court recently announced that it would not hear the case, Sweden’s largest environmental crime trial to date was finally brought to a close.
Despite that, and the fact that several years have passed since Think Pink went bankrupt, waste dumped by the company remains at many sites.
The largest pile, weighing nearly 60,000 tonnes, is in Kagghamra in Botkyrka municipality. A major fire broke out there in December 2020 and burned until the end of February 2021.
During that period, smoke hung thick over parts of southern Stockholm. For Eva and Willy Nowak, who live in a house just a few hundred metres away, those were painful months.
"There was acrid smoke and it was almost impossible to breathe. There was so much smoke that you couldn't see the trees," says Eva Nowak, pointing from the kitchen to the trees right outside the window.
I had headaches every single day. It wasn't good.
Wearing protective masks
It was winter and snowing, and to shovel snow outside their house, they had to wear protective masks with carbon filters so they could breathe. It was hard work, says Willy Nowak.
We went shopping, and you had to take deep breaths while you were out, he says.
A study by researchers at Stockholm University also found that the garbage fire had a major impact on air quality. Levels of certain harmful chemicals, including heavy metals - especially lead - and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were significantly elevated on some days.
In February 2021, the fire service managed to cover the entire burning pile with sand, and it has remained that way ever since. It was not until last year that the temperature in the pile had dropped enough to allow samples to be taken.
The waste was found to contain, among other things, toxic, carcinogenic and fertility-affecting substances. PFAS, metals and other hazardous substances are also leaching from the pile, which is next to the Kagghamra River, classified as being of national interest because of its unique sea trout population.
The municipality has installed a treatment plant at the landfill, funded by government grants. According to Director of Urban Planning Ilona Orgmetz, it purifies around 75 percent of the leachate.
But it's a temporary solution, she says at the waste pile.
The pile must be removed. It's the only way.
Government grant
For Think Pink's second dumping site in Botkyrka, in Kassmyra, the municipality received a state emergency grant of around SEK 40 million in 2021 to remove the waste and clean up the site.
However, no emergency grant was available for the waste in Kagghamra, which is not in such a densely populated area. The municipality now hopes the state will provide funding through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s regular grant process.
Removing the waste and cleaning up Kagghamra is estimated to cost around SEK 290 million.
The municipality's firm opinion is that the state should take on this task, because we cannot both be victims of crime and pay the bill. It is completely unreasonable, says Ilona Orgmetz.
When the municipality was finally able to take samples from the pile last year in preparation for a grant application, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s funds for 2026 and 2027 had already run out. If a grant is awarded, it will therefore be no earlier than 2028.
What happens if you don't get the money?
"We haven't discussed it that way yet. I can't really consider that possibility. The only option we see now is getting the grant," says Orgmetz.
Garbage in many places
Botkyrka is not unique: waste remains at least eight other sites in central Sweden where Think Pink representatives have been convicted of environmental crimes.
These include four sites in Norrtälje, where the municipality has instructed the landowners to remove the contaminated material, as well as sites in Västerås, Norberg, Östhammar and Eskilstuna municipalities.
In Västerås municipality, at Skultunatippen, most of the waste has already been dealt with at a cost of around SEK 60 million. Around 10,000 tonnes remain. Completing the cleanup is estimated to cost a further SEK 40 million.
The cost will ultimately fall on Västerås residents, according to Director of Urban Planning Martin Willén. The municipality has assessed that the level of pollution does not meet the requirements for government subsidies.
But not cleaning it up is not an option for us, because it has a major impact on the residents of Skultuna and everyone who moves there. We have to deal with it, he says.
The dump was owned by Think Pink, but the municipality will buy the plot from the bankruptcy estate.
"It's not a large sum, but we're making a commitment. We reason that we have that commitment in any case, but now we also get total control," says Willén.
The hope is that work to remove the remaining waste and clean up Skultuna can begin this year.
It's clearly unfortunate that the cost should fall on the people of Västerås. The municipality has a large overall budget, but we should really use this money for other things.
Large damages
The Svea Court of Appeal awarded substantial damages to Botkyrka (SEK 111 million) and Västerås municipality (SEK 67 million), but the bankruptcy estate is essentially empty, so no large sums are likely to be recovered from it.
Some private individuals were also awarded damages, including the Nowak couple, who had to pay to clean the well on their property after it was contaminated with lead following the fire in Kagghamra.
But we won't get a penny, says Willy Nowak.
At the same time, they are concerned about what is happening beneath the surface of the waste pile around the corner - harmful substances have been lying there and mixing with one another for several years - and what will happen when the pile is finally removed.
When the municipality dug through the waste last year to take samples, a strong stench filled the area.
"It was like acid was being released. It was impossible to breathe," says Willy Nowak.
Botkyrka Municipality is to apply to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for around SEK 290 million in government funding to deal with the Kagghamra landfill. This would be a significant increase on previous record amounts awarded in government funding for pollution management.
The most expensive measures in Sweden paid for with government funds are:
1. The redevelopment of the port of Oskarshamn: SEK 526 million.
2. The cleanup after the BT-Kemi environmental scandal in Teckomatorp: SEK 432 million.
3. Cleanup of pollution at the closed Blaiken mine in Sorsele municipality: SEK 400 million.
Source: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
