The river in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of Europe’s pearls. The usually clear, emerald-colored waters attract paddlers from all over the continent.
But in recent years, the river Drina has been plagued by a lot of rubbish after people have dumped all kinds of strange things there, and because of a lot of rainfall and floods that carry away waste.
In recent days, there has been a lot of rainfall in the area, which has led to several tonnes of rubbish from poorly regulated landfills flowing in and settling like a blanket on the Drina.
FENCED: Enormous amounts of rubbish have accumulated in the river Drina near the town of Visegrad in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where it has been caught by a fence. Photo: AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
sea view
– It is not only a great environmental and health hazard, but also a great shame for all of us, says Dejan Furtula of the local environmental organization Eko Centar Visegrad, according to Sky News.
– Not capacity
Furtula estimates that it could take up to six months to get the trash removed.
– The local waste site does not even have the capacity to handle the city’s municipal waste. The city’s landfill burns all the time, he says.
Heavy rain and unusually warm weather over the past week have caused many rivers and lakes in Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro to overflow, flooding the surrounding areas and forcing many people to leave their homes.
CARPET OF TRASH: Garbage has spread like a carpet on the usually green, clear river. Photo: AP Photo/Armin Durgut
sea view
Everything from barrels, household appliances, plastic bottles and old tires are floating around on the river, and have collected at a fence erected near the town of Visegrad.
It is estimated that around 10,000 cubic meters of waste has accumulated in recent days, writes Sky News.
The inflow of water in the area has now started to decrease.
– But the enormous amount of rubbish has unfortunately not stopped, says Furala.
– Shocking and disgusting
Widespread problem
In 2021, Visegrad also struggled with enormous amounts of rubbish in the river Drina.
Each year, between 6,000 and 8,000 cubic meters of rubbish is removed from the Drina near Visegrad.
Although the situation is most extreme here, the collection of plastic and other rubbish is a problem in rivers all over the Balkans.
Environmental activists in Bosnia state that the accumulation of rubbish at Visegrad has become an unofficial regional waste site, writes Sky News.
