Opposition at illegal landfill in Poznanovec accuses PM of turning Croatia into Europe's dumping ground, while Minister Vučković fires back that the opposition is just coming to get their photos taken.
On Thursday, August 13, 2026, SDP president Siniša Hajdaš Dončić and Možemo! coordinator Sandra Benčić held a press conference in front of the illegal waste disposal site in Poznanovec, accusing Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of allowing the "ecological mafia" to take over Croatia. As key evidence, they cited the drastic increase in waste imports, from 2,505 tons in 2015 to 146,333 tons in 2024.
Hajdaš Dončić stated that Plenković has not used his tools, thereby enabling illegal waste dumping at around twenty locations across Croatia, not just in Poznanovec and Gospić. "The key point is that the system and the state do not exist. The key point is that Plenković has not used his tools but has allowed the ecological mafia to take over Croatia, not just in Poznanovec, not just in Gospić-there are about twenty more places in Croatia where this waste has been illegally and unlawfully dumped," he said.
He noted that most of those who dumped waste in abandoned halls and bankrupt factories later shut down their companies, leaving taxpayers to foot the cleanup bill. "What we see behind us is the outcome of Plenković's policy, which over the past seven years, through legislative changes, reducing bank guarantees, and abolishing oversight functions within private waste management companies, has turned Croatia into a hub of European environmental crime," he added.
As an example of direct responsibility, he cited the appointment of Andrija Mikulić as chief state inspector, claiming that Mikulić had solicited bribes from such a company. He expects President Zoran Milanović to convene an emergency session of Parliament on this issue, which he described as a matter of national security.
Benčić demanded the immediate cleanup of all illegal landfills, a parliamentary session to determine that the government no longer has legitimacy, and elections. She also warned of a key change in 2019, when the obligation to notify the Inspectorate about imports of non-hazardous waste was abolished, which, combined with Schengen entry, meant that no authority monitors whether the waste and quantities match declarations.
"Their washing of hands, shifting responsibility to lower levels, is Plenković's fake attempt to protect himself from what is now clear to everyone-that he has turned Croatia into a large European dumping ground. Just for comparison, in 2015, when he came to power, Croatia imported 2,505 tons of waste, and in the last year for which we have data, 2024, it was 146,333 tons," Benčić said.
She also called for the government's resignation and addressed local, regional, and national HDZ members, asking how much longer they will "nod their heads while your communities, people, and neighbors are being poisoned by the system that your Plenković has set up."
Krapina-Zagorje County Prefect Željko Kolar explained that in Poznanovec, the estimated amount of illegally dumped waste is 10,300 tons, although the county had issued a permit for only 1,500 tons of non-hazardous waste. He added that, in cooperation with the then municipal mayor, they repeatedly warned inspectors about the excessive amounts of waste.
"We wrote that strange activities were taking place inside the closed facility during the evening hours and asked for an unannounced inspection at that time. When the inspection came at 1 or 2 PM, there were no traces," Kolar said. They also sent photos of trucks with visible license plates and company names, but the documentation was never investigated.
Kolar noted that on June 23, 2026, the public call by the Environmental Protection Fund for remediation was completed, with one bidder responding. The remediation was estimated at €9.24 million, while the submitted bid was €14.36 million, with a projected duration of 18 months. He asked the Fund and the minister to sign the contract without delay.
Minister of Environment and Green Transition Marija Vučković on Thursday took to Facebook to call out Benčić and Hajdaš Dončić, noting that it is telling that both are from Krapina-Zagorje County, and Benčić is from Poznanovec itself. "It is unknown whether they came to talk to the women who started the association because of the illegal multi-year waste dumping, for which the county issued permits four times. That was from around 2020 to 2023," she wrote.
She said she had been to Poznanovec and talked to the people, and that the Ministry had secured funds and initiated the procurement for the remediation process. "Benčić, Hajdaš, and their ilk have betrayed these people! Now that the process has been initiated and the remediation with area enhancement is certain, they are coming to get their photos taken," Vučković concluded.
