Garbage disaster in the Croatian capital

In the suburbs of Zagreb, a disaster occurred at a household waste landfill: a huge mountain of garbage collapsed, damaging heavy machinery and injuring several workers, one of whom had to have his arm amputated. Moreover, this is the second landslide in a month.

Yakushevets landfill has been notorious for a long time: for decades, the population of this metropolitan area has been suffering from a terrible smell spread by a landfill. While residents of the central districts of Zagreb and tourists enjoy the beautiful views of the city's famous cathedrals and parks, waste produced by the metropolis accumulates on the outskirts of the city.

Due to disagreements between various departments and commissions, the problem has not been solved for more than 20 years. Sandra Bencic, President of the Croatian Parliamentary Committee for the Protection of the Environment and Nature, said that the problem had been ignored for years and could only be solved through the joint efforts of the country's government and the leadership of Zagreb.

"The waste situation in the whole country is unstable, and now we have again received warnings and fines from the European Commission, which will continue until the government really does something," she said.

The HDZ (Independent Democrats of Croatia) faction claims that landslides at the Yakushevets facility are caused by a large amount of biological waste that is illegally disposed of there. This poses a threat not only to the company's employees, but also has a negative impact on wastewater, and emissions of harmful gases harm the health of Zagreb residents.

The incident was investigated by the State Inspectorate and the police. The Municipality of Zagreb is also conducting an independent audit with the involvement of a judicial expert. Additional air quality measurements have been ordered. The measuring stations in Yakushevets did not record exceeding the limit values for hydrogen sulfide and methane.

The State Inspectorate has temporarily banned the landfill in Yakushevets. However, there is less and less space for the disposal of household waste in Zagreb. The Ministry of Economy says that the city has not even requested funding for the creation of a new waste management center. The cost of building a household waste disposal plant is estimated at 143 million euros and should be funded by the EU, as well as the National Environmental Protection Fund. However, the construction of a new waste management complex is not included in the Zagreb strategic development plan until 2026. According to the city authorities, it is necessary to conduct additional research in the field of environmental protection, as well as the profitability of the construction of a garbage disposal complex.