Environmentalists' Concern as Garbage Builds Up in Balkan River

Storyful
1 年前

Environmental campaigners in Bosnia and Herzegovina are sounding the alarm after a large buildup of garbage has turned parts of the River Drina into a floating dump.

Footage recorded by Eko Centar Visegrad shows a large area of floating garbage on the river throughout the last week.

Dejan Furtula from the center told Euronews that around 10,000 cubic meters of waste had accumulated behind a barrier near the Visegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Bosnian media reported in early January that a chain which was supposed to retain floating garbage on the River Drina broke, sending 4,000 cubic meters of waste downstream to Visegrad.

The problem of accumulating waste on near the Visegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant is an ongoing issue, the report added.

According to Euronews, much of the garbage comes from poorly regulated riverside landfills, or is dumped straight into waterways.

Nedeljko Perisic, the director of the plant, was cited in local media on January 3 and January 22 as saying that workers in Visegrad were doing what they could to manage the inflow of garbage, but that help was needed from Serbia and Montenegro, where he said the garbage originates. Credit: Eko Centar Visegrad via Storyful