Bosnia's Spoiled Beauty: An Emerald River Is Once Again Choked With Trash

Pictured on January 5, the usually emerald waters of the Drina river -- which winds its way through Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia -- are once again a floating garbage patch near the historic town of Visegrad, in eastern Bosnia.

An aerial view of the polluted river captured on January 5.

To protect its dam from debris carried by the river, the Visegrad hydropower plant built this makeshift barrier out of old oil drums some 20 years ago.

The Ottoman-era Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is seen during Epiphany celebrations in Visegrad in January 2019.

Locals have been complaining to no avail that the waste is negatively impacting the town's tourism industry and its reputation.

 

The tons of floating garbage, mostly plastic bottles, are not only a threat to the local tourism-based economy, but concerns are growing about the impact on people's health when the trash is eventually burned.

"There are about 5,000 cubic meters of different kinds of waste," said Eko Center Visegrad's Dejan Furtula, standing near the waste. "It comes from all sides, and this scene repeats each year, unfortunately."

Furtula says the rubbish, which also includes the occasional home appliance, is carried from the Drina's upstream tributaries, where rising water levels after heavy rains or snow wash garbage from nearby waste sites into the river.

"You can find literally anything you can think of in the Drina river -- dead animals, medical waste, car parts," Furtula said. "We are like a sort of a regional waste depot."

A file photo from January 2023 shows a nearly identical amount of waste.

"This is a big disaster and shame for all of us. We are showing the world a bad picture," Furtula said.