In southwest Serbia, construction machines are used to clear tons of waste clogging the Potpec lake.
Every year during the winter, the lake near the town of Priboj in southwest Serbia fills with garbage such as plastic bottles, rusty barrels, dead animals, furniture, and appliances.
The reason is that the Lim river, which feeds into the lake, swells during the winter months and picks up trash from dozens of illegal landfills along its banks as it flows from Montenegro to Serbia.
The same problem exists in the neighbouring Drina river in Bosnia, which the Lim eventually flows into. This problem has spanned decades and is caused by poor waste management and a general lack of environmental protection safeguards across the Balkans.
The workers clearing the garbage from Potpec lake this week said that the machines they are using often break down because there is too much trash. Moreover, they said the cranes weren’t designed to pick up large chunks of wood or heavy washing machines from the water
The workers report that they have collected approximately 10,000 cubic meters (over 353,000 cubic feet) of waste since early December. However, their job is far from complete as there is still a significant amount of garbage remaining in the lake.
Officials from Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro have repeatedly pledged to work together to solve the problem of pollution affecting their shared rivers, but little has been done in reality.
The three countries are looking to join the European Union and are expected to do more to protect their environment if their entry bids go ahead. Another pressing issue is the extremely high level of air pollution affecting a number of cities in the region.
The garbage problem is evident in many places – piles of waste can be found on hills and valleys, trash lines and roads and plastic bags are often twisted from tree branches. The issue is made worse because recycled materials are hardly ever separated.
Some environmental activists believe that more aggressive measures must be taken to protect the environment.
Sinisa Lakovic, of the local Jastreb group, said that heavy fines should be slapped for throwing waste around.
