Trucks and construction equipment are parked at a river dam in southwest Serbia, but not for construction work. Instead, huge cranes are used to remove tons of waste piled up at the base of a hydroelectric plant.
Serbia and other Balkan countries are overwhelmed with municipal waste after decades of neglect and lack of effective waste management policies in countries aspiring to join the European Union.
Burning landfills are visible from the roads, plastic bags hang from trees and islands of waste float on the region’s rivers. The problem usually manifests itself in winter, when swollen waters surge over landfills, pushing waste toward hydroelectric dams.
This was the case at Lake Potpeć after a spell of rain and snow in December and early January. The surface of the lake became covered in a thick layer of trash ranging from plastic to rusty metal scraps and tree trunks.
The waste was carried downstream by the Lim River, which feeds the Potpeć Dam. The Lim rises in neighboring Montenegro and flows through several municipalities and their outlets in Montenegro and Serbia.
“Based on a recent study, we found out that in these cities, in five municipalities in Montenegro and three in Serbia, about 45,000 tons of waste are collected (per year),” said Predrag Saponjic, director of the system of the Lim River hydroelectric power station. . Looking at the waste-strewn lake, he added that “even if only a fraction of this waste ends up in the Lim River, we get that.”
Balkan environmentalists have warned that most landfills are not managed properly and dump toxic materials into rivers, threatening ecosystems and wildlife.
Bosnia also reported a pile of garbage that endangers the hydroelectric dam on the Drina River near the eastern town of Visegrad. The Lim is one of the tributaries of the Drina, making their waterways – and their garbage flows – closely linked.
The two emerald-colored rivers – the Drina flows along the border between Serbia and Bosnia – are popular in summer with adventurers and rafters who appreciate the winding waterways and seemingly pristine nature.
As Balkan countries struggle to recover from a series of wars and crises in the 1990s, environmental issues often come last for countries whose economies lag far behind the rest of Europe and where funds Public authorities are vulnerable to widespread corruption.
Jugoslav Jovanovic of Serbia’s state-owned Srbijavode, which is responsible for the country’s water supply system, blamed the waste problem on “our negligence and lack of care.” Landfills are located too close to rivers and are overloaded rather than closed over the years, he warned.
“If we find ourselves having to do it year after year, then it’s not really a solution,” he said of the land clearing operation. “We must find common ground and solve this problem by joining forces. »
Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia have held meetings on the issue, but little has been done. Balkan countries also face other environmental emergencies, including dangerous levels of air pollution in many cities.
Experts predict that cleaning Lake Potpeć will take a few weeks, depending on the weather. However, all waste from the water will end up again in a landfill in western Serbia.
Goran Rekovic, an activist from the nearby town of Priboj, said public awareness of pollution was a key goal, along with “institutional and systematic” solutions. These measures are also necessary if Serbia and other Balkan countries want to move closer to EU membership.
“This is not an obligation of the European Union. We should not do this for them,” Mr Rekovic said. “The reason we need to take care of our environment is for our own future generations. »
This story was reported by the Associated Press. Jovana Gec and Marko Drobnjakovic contributed to this report.