Uroš Macerl

A farm belonging to Macerl's family stands on a hill near the town of Trbovlje.[1][4] Air pollution from nearby factories has affected people and wildlife in the region for a long time.[1][4] 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.[1] 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.[4] 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.[1] 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.[1] Lafarge started burning petcoke, a byproduct of oil refining, in a 130-year old cement plant. Both cement production and petcoke burning are known to be highly polluting processes.[1][3]

Macerl's family farm stood near the plant reopened by Lafarge.[4] Macerl, the president of a local environmental group called Eko Krog ("Eco Circle"[2]), 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.[1] Macerl was the only person legally permitted to make this challenge before the European Commission, where the legal battle went from the local authorities.[3][4] The Commission ruled in favor of the residents of the town in 2015, and Lafarge was forced to stop cement production at the plant.[3] In 2017 Macerl was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, described in the Slovenian media as being a Nobel Prize for environmental activism.[2] 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".[6]