Throughout November, environmentalists will check car repair shops and car workshops in garages, whether they operate legally and whether the premises are heated without using waste.
As informed by the Department of Environmental Protection, the second stage of the campaign "Garage - Fireplace 2022" is starting. The campaign aims to encourage car repair shops to operate without polluting the environment.
"The majority of vehicle waste is generated at their dismantlers and at car repair shops during car repairs. As a result, during this campaign, environmentalists will pay attention not only to the companies that carry out these activities, but also to individuals who carry out technical maintenance of vehicles in garage associations, individual garages, farm buildings, farms, hangars and production facilities, and who repair and dismantle unusable vehicles. Paulius Rutkauskas, advisor of the waste management control department of the Department of Environmental Quality, is quoted in the report.
This month, special attention will be paid to those operators who engage in it illegally.
Also, during the promotion period, all regions of the country will be checked to see if individuals and companies engaged in car maintenance, repair or dismantling use the right fuel for heating, and how the accumulated waste is handled.
"It also happens that people who repair and dismantle cars use the waste generated after the activity - rags, plastic, grease, dangerous liquids or other substances - to heat rooms or simply get rid of them by burning them in fuel burning devices. In such cases, the ambient air is extremely polluted and people's health is harmed," said P. Rutkauskas.
In addition, it will be checked whether the persons who collect and process unused vehicles have an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPC) or Pollution permit.
The officers of the department will check whether the premises of car service centers meet the established requirements, the repair shops have means for neutralizing spilled dangerous liquids. Attention will be paid to whether waste is properly sorted and stored, and how much is accumulated.
According to environmentalists, in order to find out the offenders, they will cooperate with the specialists of the State Tax Inspectorate and police officers.
The department reminds that dismantling cars without a permit or without complying with the conditions of the existing permit entails a fine of between 300 and 560 euros for natural persons, between 300 and 1700 euros for managers of legal entities, and between 600 and 1150 euros for other responsible persons.
Legal entities are subject to a fine of 10 for dismantling unusable cars without a permit. up to 30 thousand EUR, and in case of violation of the conditions of the available permit - EUR 1-2 thousand. euros.
For violations of waste management, natural persons are liable from a warning to 4100 euros.
Legal entities that have transferred hazardous waste to illegal waste handlers face a fine from 150 to 55 thousand. EUR, and violations of waste accounting can result in a fine from 150 to 1,4 thousand. euros.
