Uroš Macerl (born 4 July 1968) is an

organic farmer Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...

and

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

from

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. He won the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

in 2017 after leading a successful legal challenge against the company operating a

cement kiln Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland cement, portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silicon dioxide, silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silic ...

that was

incinerating Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

near his farm.

Biography

A farm belonging to Macerl's family stands on a hill near the town of

Trbovlje Trbovlje (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 58.) is Slovenia's eleventh-largest town, located in the traditional province of Styria ...

. Air pollution from nearby factories has affected people and wildlife in the region for a long time. Macerl grew up on the farm, which belonged to his grandfather at the time; he has said that he remembers the effects of coal dust pollution on the farm that he witnessed as a child. Macerl, who began running the farm when he was 23, switched to raising sheep on his property after rising air pollution prevented him from raising crops any longer. The region Macerl lived in in central Slovenia had a history with air pollution from emissions from industrial towns. The area had above average rates of cancer, and of respiratory illnesses among children. The European Union introduced incentives in recent years for companies willing to incinerate energy sources such as "medical waste, old tires, and other industrial residue", in place of coal. As a result of this policy, companies such as Lafarge Cement began refurbishing old industrial plants to use the new fuel. Lafarge started burning

petcoke Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke, pet coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a fina ...

, a byproduct of

oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

, in a 130-year old cement plant. Both cement production and petcoke burning are known to be highly polluting processes. Macerl's family farm stood near the plant reopened by Lafarge. Macerl, the president of a local environmental group called Eko Krog ("Eco Circle"), organized local residents to collect data on air pollution; though they presented this to the media, it had little impact. In 2009 Lafarge applied for a permit to burn hazardous waste at the plant; Macerl's property fell within the zone that the company said would be affected, allowing him to challenge the permit in court. Macerl was the only person legally permitted to make this challenge before the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, where the legal battle went from the local authorities. The Commission ruled in favor of the residents of the town in 2015, and Lafarge was forced to stop cement production at the plant. In 2017 Macerl was awarded the

, described in the Slovenian media as being a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

for environmental activism. Macerl's legal battle led to him separating from his spouse. He has said that his effort had taught his three children "that the struggle was worth it".

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macerl, Uroš Slovenian farmers Organic farmers Slovenian activists Slovenian environmentalists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees