Although Višegrad has had a problem with waste for many years, an ecological disaster occurred earlier this year when about four thousand cubic meters of waste was deposited on the crest of the dam of the Višegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant due to a broken sprocket, which endangered its work.

As Dejan Furtula from the Eco Center Višegrad told FENA, due to heavy rainfall and high water levels of the Drina River and the Lim River, a huge amount of waste stopped at the dam.

Two years ago, the issue of waste was brought up when a trilateral meeting of the competent ministries of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina with the mayors of municipalities in the Drina basin was held.

Furtula said that, at that meeting, it was agreed to form teams to resolve the issue of landfills along the riverbanks, but so far nothing concrete has been done, which is why he announced that an appeal would be sent to them again to update solutions and preserve health.

-The whole ecosystem is under attack because so much plastic is floating in the river, the garbage dump is located 400 or 500 meters from us and it is a vicious circle. We take the garbage out of the river to the landfill, which is often set on fire, or when it rains, the waste goes into groundwater and returns to the Drina River- said Furtula.

He reiterated that this is a real ecological disaster, expressing hope that everyone will understand that the health of the population must come first.

Workers of the company "Hydropower plant on the Drina River" started removing floating waste, which is estimated to about four thousand cubic meters and is located on the crest of the dam of Hydropower plant "Višegrad" after it reached there due to breaking up of the upper sprocket, which endangered electricity production.

The specialized team of the Hydro Power Plant "Višegrad" annually removes 6,000 to 8,000 cubic meters of floating waste from the Drina River.