A large load of construction waste was dumped in the countryside near Oslo airport (Jessheim in Ullensaker).
The illegal dumping took place during the night before Friday last week near the Utsikten shelter (gapahuk) on Hovinfjellet, a popular hiking destination a few kilometres north of central Jessheim. The chairman of the mountain board (fjellstyret), Svein Tore Olsen, reacted strongly:
– I was absolutely furious. This wasn’t a small trailer load; it must have been an entire lorry that dumped everything here, Olsen told Romerikes Blad.
– A lot of people use this area, both hikers and campers. It’s a shame they have to see this.
The load included insulation, wall panelling and a Verisure alarm sign. After Olsen learned of the incident, he posted about it on Facebook, where it attracted considerable attention.
Many are asking why the waste was not taken to Øvre Romerike Avfallsselskap (ØRAS) at Dal, less than a ten-minute drive from the turn-off to the Utsikten shelter. Suspicion in the comments section has fallen on people who offer to dispose of rubbish cheaply.
“This is what happens when people aren’t willing to pay a little extra for waste removal. It’s ridiculous when it costs so little to deliver it to ØRAS.”
“I just don’t understand people like this. They’re already out driving and could just as easily have taken the rubbish to Dal. But some strange souls think NOK 100 is far too expensive (while happily spending close to NOK 1,000 on partying over the weekend).”
The mountain board is now in dialogue with Statskog regarding the clean-up, and work is under way to install a barrier on the road to prevent future littering.
– Illegal
The municipality receives a number of reports concerning illegal dumping but is unable to detect every case.
– Ullensaker Municipality takes the dumping of waste in places where it does not belong very seriously. This type of littering is illegal, disfigures the surroundings and can harm both nature and wildlife. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, says communications adviser Benjamin Moe of Ullensaker Municipality.
Jessheim is far from the only place in Norway where rubbish is dumped directly in the countryside.