Tens of thousands in Croatia protest over toxic waste dump

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday on Zagreb's central square to protest against the Croatian government's inaction over the cleanup of more than 30,000 tonnes of waste in a mountainous region in the central part of the country.

The rally, dubbed "March for Lika", was one of the largest in Croatia in recent years, taking its name from the region of Lika where the waste is stored.

Last year, Croatian authorities discovered between 34,000 and 37,000 tonnes of waste near the town of Gospić in Lika. According to activists, a significant share of it was brought from Italy in 2023–2024.

The government has promised to clean up the area, but environmental organizations say the work is progressing too slowly. They claim the waste, which may include medical and other industrial refuse, is polluting the air, soil and water in Lika — a region known for its large stretches of almost untouched nature.

Protesters carried signs reading "Croatia's lungs can no longer breathe", "Stop the destruction of Croatia" and "Nature does not forgive".

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Gospić on Wednesday and said the government had already selected a contractor for the first phase of the cleanup, which involves removing the waste.

Earlier this year, the European police agency Europol said it had arrested more than 300 people in 70 countries as part of a crackdown on organized crime groups accused of illegal waste trafficking in Europe. Last autumn, Poland's national tax administration detained 23 tonnes of illegal waste being transported from Germany.