Some unsettling imagery out of Europe last week: The Drina river, a 346 km waterway that constitutes much of the border of Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia, has been covered in trash.
The pileup of waste spoils what is an otherwise beautiful setting. The river’s northern reaches are well known for their fishing, according to Britannica. The garbage accumulated at a trash barrier after flowing in from riverside landfills, according to the Associated Press.
The AP reports that unauthorised waste dumps are common in the area, and the river buildup is unfortunately common when rainy weather increases the flow of water, to the extent that locals avoid rafting on river during “garbage season.”
When there’s substantial rainfall, flooding, or both, the Drina and its tributaries can carry more garbage to its destination: a trash blockade spanning the river near Visegrad, Bosnia. The barricade that spans the river was erected by a Bosnian hydroelectric plant downriver, the AP reported. The plant, which draws its power from the natural movement of the Drina, didn’t want any garbage clogging up the dam.
Dejan Furtula, a member of the local environmental group Eko Centar Visegrad, told the AP that the garbage flow was exacerbated by a week of heavy rain, and about 350,000 cubic feet of garbage are estimated to be clogging up the Drina.
It may take about six months to remove the trash to a nearby landfill. Click through for more photos of the trash blockade.
That’s a lot of trash
In this aerial shot, you can just make out the river amidst all of the trash. Can you spot it? It’s the light brown splotch at top centre.
A close-up of the trash
Bottles and other plastic products in a pile-up of trash and other flotsam in the Drina river.
The scale of the trash pileup
The trash is blocked from moving farther downriver by a large barrier, set up by a nearby hydroelectric plant.
The trash is a range of goods
The trash pile is filled with barrels, bottles, tires, and other junk.
The trash pile from above
An aerial view reveals the shape and scale of the trash heap.
Bottles in the garbage patch
A dock next to the trash.
A small dock shows 11 boats next to the massive flow of trash.