Illegal dumping behind homes on Juzhnomoravski Brigadi Street in Čento

Residents of Juzhnomoravski Brigadi Street in the Čento neighbourhood of Skopje say trucks have been bringing and dumping piles of household waste and sewage directly behind their houses and gardens, creating unbearable smells and sanitary problems.

Those affected told reporters they cannot open their windows because of the odour, and that when it rains the water that collects at the illegal dumping site flows into their yards. Neighbours described the situation as an ecological assault and appealed to the municipal authorities for an urgent intervention.

Municipality: offender fined and ordered to clear site

The Gazi Baba Municipality inspected the location after receiving citizen reports and video material. Officials determined the vehicle dumping the waste belonged to a private individual identified as R.J. from Skopje, imposed a monetary fine and issued an order for removal of the rubbish.

In a written statement the municipality said: "Following information from citizens and the shared video, the Inspectorate of Gazi Baba Municipality took action and established that it involved a cargo vehicle owned by a private person R.J. from Skopje. In accordance with the Law, the person has been fined, which has already been paid, and instructed to remove the waste. If the person does not remove the waste, another fine will be issued and the removal will be carried out by Gazi Baba Municipality through the public utility company JKP 'Gazi Baba', in which case an invoice will be delivered to the person."

The problem of illegal dumps has persisted across the country for some time. The Ministry of Environment, the Crisis Management Centre and socially responsible companies have announced plans for a new system of video monitoring of landfills, using modern cameras, intelligent video analytics and artificial intelligence to enable rapid detection of smoke, fire and other risks.

Residents said they expect faster, visible action from local services to stop further waste being dumped at the entrance to their homes and to clean the existing piles before health risks rise.

Photo: press material from the event