VISEGRAD, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Dejan Furtula sighed with despair while looking at construction machines working around the clock to remove tons of trash clogging the Drina River near his hometown of Visegrad, in eastern Bosnia.
The environmental activist is frustrated because the problem is not new. Every winter, garbage carried by swollen rivers in the region accumulates downstream, eventually piling up by barriers installed by a hydro power plant in Visegrad.
''This is a clear example of the lack of political will and inactivity of all relevant institutions,'' Furtula, who runs the Eko Centar environmental group, said. ''They meet year after year and make promises, but as we can see these scenes repeat themselves."
The sight recalls scenes from environmental disaster movies — an otherwise emerald green surface of river thickly covered with plastic bottles, pieces of wood or furniture, rusty barrels, home appliances or even dead animals. Furtula said medical waste is also there.
''This is an ecological disaster,'' he said. ''The Drina is rich with fish and you can imagine the toxins that are being released here, there is virtually everything, it is a big catastrophe.''
The waste comes from illegal dump sites upstream in Bosnia but also in neighboring Serbia and Montenegro. Several smaller tributaries across the region float into the Drina, all carrying their portion of the garbage.
In summer, the rivers are popular with rafters and and nature lovers. The garbage problem culminates during winter months when swollen rivers sweep away illegal dump sites along their banks.
Officials from the three countries have pledged to work together to solve the issue. One such meeting of the environment ministers of Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro was held at the site back in 2019 but no solution appears to be in sight years later.
