Illegal waste trafficking is widely recognised as a core form of environmental crime, yet its empirical features often blur the boundaries between lawful economic activity and organised criminal involvement. This hybrid character – in which business actors, regulatory violations and organised criminal groups may intersect within the same waste management chains – creates difficulties for criminal law systems built on clearer distinctions between corporate misconduct and organised crime, and raises challenges for the consistent definition of criminal offences. This paper examines how Italian and European criminal law frameworks address this hybridity. It considers whether existing offence definitions and enforcement approaches correspond to the configurations identified by criminological research, and whether recent reforms move towards a more coherent, empirically grounded understanding of waste-related offending. The discussion focuses on the Italian offence under Article 452-quaterdecies of the Italian Criminal Code, which is particularly relevant because it was introduced to address large-scale organised waste trafficking, but has often been applied to activities carried out within otherwise lawful business settings. its judicial application is examined in light of the insights emerging from the “Land of Fires” case and the ensuing legislative response. These national developments are then situated within the broader European context, with particular reference to the 2024 Environmental Crime Directive (ECD).
Illegal Waste Trafficking Between Organised Crime and Corporate Misconduct: Criminal Law Responses in Italy and the EU
Benedetta Paterra
2026-01-01
Abstract
Illegal waste trafficking is widely recognised as a core form of environmental crime, yet its empirical features often blur the boundaries between lawful economic activity and organised criminal involvement. This hybrid character – in which business actors, regulatory violations and organised criminal groups may intersect within the same waste management chains – creates difficulties for criminal law systems built on clearer distinctions between corporate misconduct and organised crime, and raises challenges for the consistent definition of criminal offences. This paper examines how Italian and European criminal law frameworks address this hybridity. It considers whether existing offence definitions and enforcement approaches correspond to the configurations identified by criminological research, and whether recent reforms move towards a more coherent, empirically grounded understanding of waste-related offending. The discussion focuses on the Italian offence under Article 452-quaterdecies of the Italian Criminal Code, which is particularly relevant because it was introduced to address large-scale organised waste trafficking, but has often been applied to activities carried out within otherwise lawful business settings. its judicial application is examined in light of the insights emerging from the “Land of Fires” case and the ensuing legislative response. These national developments are then situated within the broader European context, with particular reference to the 2024 Environmental Crime Directive (ECD).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
