Zagreb protesters demand deadlines for hazardous waste cleanup

Tens of thousands of people marched through Zagreb on Saturday, demanding that Croatia’s government remove more than 30,000 tonnes of medical and industrial waste allegedly dumped near Gospić in the Lika region.

The protest broadened into a challenge to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s government, which protesters and opposition figures accused of delaying the cleanup and concealing the scale of pollution. Those allegations remain contested.

The waste was allegedly imported from elsewhere in the European Union and buried since 2023. Police and Europol arrested 13 people in February over the alleged scheme, which investigators said generated more than $4 million. The arrests do not establish guilt.

Pollution assessments have produced conflicting findings. Croatian officials said soil and water tests showed no contamination, while the country’s anticorruption agency reported elevated metal levels in soil and PFAS chemicals in nearby groundwater. Environmental experts said the damage appeared local but warned pollutants could eventually move through porous terrain and rivers towards the Adriatic.

Organisers demanded a complete cleanup plan within 20 days and the removal of all buried waste within three months. Plenković said a contractor had been selected to begin the removal, but it remains unclear how much waste has been cleared or whether the proposed deadlines can be met.