A German state promised Sunday an inquiry into exports of garbage to the Czech Republic which were stopped this month after thousands of tons of old packaging had been dumped on a village tip, dpa reported. Petra Wernicke, Environment Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, said she would demand to know exactly what had happened. Media reports say that for two weeks from December 22 until January 5, trucks regularly drove over the border to Libceves, a Czech community of just 1,000 people, before locals protested and Czech officials stopped the deliveries. The trucks are believed to have been loaded with soiled packaging, mainly plastic and cardboard, collected under Germany's "green dot" scheme from private households. Such garbage is supposed to be recycled. Czech officials said Sunday they would contact Germany and demand the refuse be taken back, since the Czech Republic opposes garbage imports. Jiri Sulc, county chairman of Usti nad Labem appealed to residents to keep their eyes open for "suspicious" German trucks.
