Before the fire, Veronica Söderberg, who then worked as a part-time firefighter, had not seen the inside of the waste facility. The community didn’t talk much about the place either, she says.
According to Söderberg, the fire brigade had tried to arrange a meeting with Think Pink regarding fire safety for preventive purposes.
The waste facility in Skultuna
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– There was always something that got in the way of the company and the meeting never happened, she says.
In February 2019, the first fire breaks out at the waste facility and Veronica Söderberg is one of those who rush out.
– Before, I didn’t know much about the place but, like everyone else, had only seen the blue bales that functioned as a wall around the facility. But when we entered I was shocked.
“Feeled that it was important for people to know”
The smoke from the fire spread over the community and on social media the discussion began about what it was that was actually at the facility.
Söderberg had taken some pictures from the fire and felt it was her duty to inform everyone about what was going on behind the wall.
– I felt that it is important that people get to know and in the comment field for the pictures I published there was an upset atmosphere.
Think Pink reported Veronica Söderberg to the Ombudsman for Justice (JO) for the publication of the images. In the report, the principal claimed that Söderberg had collected information and mapped the company in an illegal way and disclosed several patents that had been pending.
Söderberg points out to SVT that she never violated any confidentiality obligations with the pictures she published. The application has now been closed.
Trial begins
To this day, the blue bales remain as a wall around the facility, but Veronica Söderberg sees a lightening in the darkness when the trial against the principals behind the company begins.
– I hope they are sentenced for environmental crimes, but it feels like it will be tough. In the end, it will be us taxpayers who have to bear the cost of removing the mountain of rubbish.
The three main defendants deny wrongdoing.
Veronica Söderberg tells about when the company Think Pink reported her to the Ombudsman for the fire images in the video above.