A senior director in Randers Municipality has been dismissed following criticism of oversight in the Nordic Waste case. Jens Heslop, the development, environment, and technical director, lost his position after a council meeting on Tuesday evening.
His union confirmed the termination but declined to provide further details. The director referred all questions to his union representatives, who acknowledged they are assisting him through the process.
The dismissal comes months after Randers Municipality faced scrutiny for its supervision of Nordic Waste before a major landslide in December 2023. The municipality had commissioned an independent legal investigation into the matter.
That investigation found the municipality was aware of several issues it should have addressed before the landslide occurred. However, lawyers concluded the full extent of the landslide could not have been predicted.
The legal review cleared Randers Municipality of direct responsibility for the landslide itself. Yet the findings highlighted administrative shortcomings that ultimately cost the director his job.
This case shows how environmental oversight failures can have serious career consequences for public officials, even when legal responsibility is limited.