Six years in prison were required against Bella Nilsson, a former business manager nicknamed “the Queen of garbage”, during the trial of the greatest case of environmental crime in Sweden which ended on Thursday.
AFP – Anders Wiklund / Reuters
A time praised for its waste management, the Think Pink company is accused of having dispersed 200,000 tonnes of toxic materials on 21 sites between 2015 and 2020, without intention to treat them properly.
Ms. Nilsson, a former self -proclaimed stripper “the queen of garbage” and who directed Think Pink, appeared for “aggravated environmental crime”.
The same sentence of six years in prison was required against the former Mari of Mrs. Nilsson and founder of the company Thomas Nilsson, as well as Leif-Ivan Karlsson-an eccentric entrepreneur who made himself known in a reality show where he exhibited his lifestyle.
Both held the position of Managing Director of Think Pink several times.
Robert Silversten, waste broker, and Tobias Gustafsson, who organized the transport of waste, risk the same penalty.
All rejected the accusations.
“We did everything correctly, legally. We have followed the law, ”assured Bella Nilsson at the helm.
His lawyer Thomas Olsson denied that the company had used falsified documents to deceive the authorities, evoking only errors made by “inadvertent”.
“Victim of a plot”
The queen of garbage, which is now called Fariba Vancor, claims to have been the victim of a plot orchestrated by her competitors.
Think Pink was employed by many municipalities, construction companies, condominiums and homes to recycle and treat their construction waste but also electronics, metals, plastic, wood, toys or tires.
But society has sorted anything and left these stacks of detritus abandoned, according to the accusation.
Significant quantities of PCB (polychlorobiphenyls, so -called eternal pollutants), lead, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals have been released in air, soil and water, undermining the health of humans, animals and flora.
The trial opened in September 2024 after a survey of several years, made up of more than 45,000 pages.
“This trial is unique by its magnitude. There have been many elements to examine, large amounts of waste (..). The investigation and the trial lasted a long time, “prosecutor Anders Gustafsson told AFP.
According to him, Think Pink was guided by money.
“It is extremely expensive for a business to do what it takes. You earn a lot of money if you collect waste and you don’t sort it properly. ”
Several municipalities demand damages for cleaning and decontamination costs, for a total of 260 million crowns (23 million euros).
One of the main complaints comes from the Botkyrka municipal council, where two piles of Think Pink waste burned for months in 2020 and 2021 after having ignited spontaneously. One of them was near two natural reserves.
The decision will be rendered on June 17.
