Tourists dump toilet waste and hazardous rubbish at Lapland collection points

Tourists have increasingly been emptying motorhome and caravan toilet tanks at roadside waste collection points in Lapland this summer, Yle reports. Waste oil, fuel containers and battery-powered devices have also been left at the points.

Marko Lammi, a transport supervisor at Verdis, which empties collection points for the Lapland Waste Management Authority in Enontekiö and Muonio, said the problem had previously occurred only occasionally but had surged this summer.

Waste oil was put into mixed-waste containers in Muonio last week and in Kemijärvi in August. In Pelkosenniemi, four canisters of waste oil were left beside the containers. The authority said the oil could contaminate soil and groundwater if it leaked. Cleaning up contaminated soil can cost about 1,000 euros, it said.

Waste that does not belong in the containers can also put rubbish-collection workers at risk. A fire broke out in a waste truck’s load compartment in Muonio in early September, but the driver put it out. Lammi said fires are usually caused by fuel or gas containers that have not been emptied, or by small electronic devices with batteries still inside.

Lammi said signs in Finnish and English banning the emptying of toilet tanks into the containers could help prevent misuse. More surveillance cameras may also be needed. He has noticed that tanks are often emptied at locations without cameras.