Lake of garbage: Every winter pollution is swept from overflowing landfills into
Balkan waterways. (2023, January 26). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/
news/lake-of-garbage-serbia-balkans-pollution-landfills-water-eu/
Serbia, Bosnia, and other Balkan countries have been suffering from an overwhelming amount of garbage accumulating in their waterways. Heavy machinery is currently being used to clear tons of waste from the Potpecko accumulation lake next to its hydroelectric power plant. About 45,000 tons are collected per year from 8 municipalities in Montenegro and Serbia. Bosnia has also reported a similar situation with a garbage buildup threatening its hydroelectric dam on the Drina River. The garbage taken from Potpec late will eventually end up in a landfill in western Serbia after the few weeks it will take to remove the waste. Environmental issues are often overlooked in countries with struggling economies; as is the case in the Balkans as a series of conflicts in the 1990s crippled their financial stability.
This article brings up a difficult issue over how politics and the economy play a huge role in environmental science. It’s frustrating to see progress being slowed due to human conflict that’s meaningless in the long run. There still is no permanent solution that seems to be available to countries in that region. They resorted to just burning trash which seems much too common considering the negative effects it has on the environment.
Where is the main source of the garbage? And what machinery did they use to remove it? We could probably use that type of machinery for trash in the United States!
I agree that the economy plays a huge role in APES and determines what people or countries invest into. Are there better ways to dispose of our garbage in the U.S
How does the garbage accumulate in the first place, its exhausting to see how politics often slows down progress. I wonder if they have reached an agreement or if they’re still nagotiating the issue