President Klaus signs new law on hefty fines for illegal waste dumping

President Vaclav Klaus has approved a new law that allows those caught dumping illegal waste in the Czech Republic to be fined up to 50 million crowns. Until now, the penalty was set at a maximum of 10 million crowns. In recent months, thousands of tonnes of illegal waste originating from Germany found its way across the border into the Czech Republic. The problem of illegal waste dumping also became part of the Czech election campaign, with members of the German Green Party supporting their Czech colleagues in efforts to draw attention to these environmental hazards.