Illegal Trafficking of Waste in the Light of National and International Legislation

Abstract

The chapter illustrates an overview on International and European legislation concerning environmental protection, followed by a brief presentation of a special unit belonging to Italian Carabinieri, whose mission is to fight environmental crime. Through their experience it is possible to assess the future strategies of environmental protection under the point of view of a LEA and to depict the future, potential flows of illegal environmental crimes, with particular regard to the illegal trafficking of waste. The unit, founded in 1986 by decree of the Ministry of Environment, nowadays is a landmark in Italy and abroad for environmental issues and can take two strategic tools into account: the radioactivity section and S.I.T.A. (intelligence system for environmental protection and photo interpretation). Many officers and NCOs attend national and international meetings where the environmental issues are discussed; as expertise they give their contribution in University Environmental masters and in planned activities of “culture of environmental legality” in high schools.