HUNGARY
Cooperate, Don't Litigate: Mediated Dispute Reduces Pollution in Dorog
In Dorog, Hungary, an impasse arose between a waste management
company and a local environmental group that led them to Partners-Hungary's
Mediation Center. The waste management company had agreed to incinerate
refuse from a neighboring town. Meanwhile, the Dorog Environmental
Association, a citizens’ group dedicated to ecological issues,
claimed that the increase in waste incineration would raise air
and water pollution to dangerous levels. The waste management company
complained, in turn, that the Association’s assessment of
pollution levels was inaccurate, and as a result the company was
being unfairly maligned in the press.
Partners-Hungary’s mediators met with both groups and persuaded
the parties to resolve their dispute through mediation, pointing
out that the media war was only exacerbating tensions, and litigation
would be an expensive and time consuming ordeal.
During a series of mediation sessions, the Association demanded
that the company immediately cease the burning of waste from other
communities, and that it have the right to monitor and periodically
inspect the company's facilities. The company insisted that the
Association report information about the incinerator's environmental
impact to the public in an accurate and objective manner.
What had seemed to be an intractable issue was ultimately resolved
in a detailed agreement. The company agreed to stop incinerating
refuse from other towns and gave the Association access to its facilities
and records. The Association agreed to report the company's activities
based on full, accurate information.
The parties met three months later to evaluate the agreement. While
the company expressed some concern over perceived negative publicity
from the Association, both parties decided to extend the agreement
indefinitely.
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