PRIBOJ, Serbia (AP) – Trucks and construction machinery stand on a river dam in southwestern Serbia, but not for construction work. Instead, large cranes are used to clean up tons of garbage at the foot of the power station.
Serbia and other Balkan countries are overwhelmed by communal waste after decades of neglect and lack of effective waste management policies in the countries that want to join the European Union.
Burning rubbish heaps can be seen from the roads, plastic bags hanging from trees and islands drifting waste along the rivers of the region. The problem usually occurs in winter, when swollen waters sweep over landfills and push the garbage in the direction of hydropower dams.
This was the case at the Potpec heap near the power station after a spate of rain and snow in December and early January. The surface of the lake is covered with a thick layer of debris ranging from plastic to rusted metal debris, tree trunks and even a coffin.
The rubbish was swept downstream by the Lim River, which feeds the Potpec Dam. The Lim has its origins in neighboring Montenegro, which runs through several municipalities and their waste disposal sites in Montenegro and Serbia.
“Based on a recent study, we found that in these towns, in the five municipalities in Montenegro and three in Serbia, about 45 000 tons of waste are collected (per year),” said Predrag Saponjic, the manager of the Hydropower System in Lim River, said. . When he looked at the garbage scattered more, he added that “even if only a fraction of the waste ends up in the Lim River, we get it.”
Environmentalists in the Balkans have warned that because most landfills are not properly managed, they are leaking toxic materials into rivers, threatening ecosystems and wildlife.
Bosnia also reported a pile of rubbish endangering the hydroelectric dam on the Drina River, near the eastern city of Visegrad. The Lim is one of the tributaries of the Drina, which now connects their waterways – and garbage flows.
The two emerald-colored rivers – the Drina flow along the border between Serbia and Bosnia – are favored during the summer by adventurers and water beams who enjoy the meandering waterways and seemingly unspoilt nature.
While the Balkan countries struggled to recover from a series of wars and crises in the 1990s, environmental issues often come last for the countries whose economies lag far behind in the rest of Europe and where public funds are vulnerable to widespread corruption.
Yugoslav Jovanovic, from Serbia, the state-owned Srbijavode company, which is in charge of the country’s water system, puts the waste problem on ‘our neglect and lack of care’. Landfills are located too close to rivers and are overcrowded rather than closed over the years, he warned.
“If we’re forced to do it year after year, it’s not really a solution,” he said of the clean-up operation. “We need to find a common ground and resolve it by joining forces.”
Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia held meetings on it, but little was done. The Balkans also face other emergencies in the area, including dangerous levels of air pollution in many cities.
Experts predict that clearing the Potpec Lake will take several weeks, depending on the weather. However, all the rubbish from the water will end up in a landfill in western Serbia.
Goran Rekovic, an activist from the nearby city of Priboj, said raising public awareness about pollution is a key goal, along with ‘institutional and systematic’ solutions. This is also necessary if Serbia and other Balkan countries are to move closer to EU membership.
‘It is not the obligation of the European Union. We must not do this for them, “said Rekovic. “The reason we need to take care of our environment is for our future generations.”
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Jovana Gec and Marko Drobnjakovic contributed to this report.
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