Photo from Špansko Circulates, Neighbors Horrified
Improperly disposed waste in Zagreb's Špansko neighborhood has sparked strong reactions on social media, and the city offers several ways to report illegal dumpsites.
Improperly disposed waste in Zagreb's Špansko neighborhood has sparked strong reactions on social media, and the city offers several ways to report illegal dumpsites.
Improperly dumping waste on Zagreb's streets is a problem that seems impossible to solve without a miracle. In a metropolis of 800,000 residents, cultivating individual awareness is a challenge that cannot be quickly resolved. A new photo circulating on social media comes from the Špansko neighborhood and has once again caused outrage among neighbors.
Illegal waste disposal in Zagreb is extremely widespread. Statistics show that over 4,000 incidents were recorded over a twelve-month period. Although municipal inspectors and city administration have issued several thousand fines and warnings, the effect has been lacking so far. Almost daily, examples from different parts of the city appear on social media.
An angry resident wrote: "Isn't this a disgrace, especially with recycling yards and other solutions available? Some people simply aren't meant to live in an apartment building or in a city." Other comments followed. "These aren't people, they're garbage," "This is what Jelačić Square will look like," "What culture, dear citizens," and "It's terrible that people have no shame; they could have helped someone truly in need instead of doing this," wrote horrified neighbors.
However, there were also those who sought justification for such behavior. One resident said: "You go to the recycling center, and they roll their eyes at you, saying 'Can't you see we're full?' There are always some problems, so it doesn't surprise me that people leave stuff everywhere." Another added: "You're complaining about a bit of trash improperly disposed of, but what about the toxic waste in Lika that's polluting the environment?"
For such situations, citizens can directly report via the MojZagreb app. The advantage of the app is that users can track the status of their reported case and receive a notification when the location has been cleaned up. Reports are directly received by the relevant services and automatically taken into processing.
To report trash on public surfaces, citizens can contact Čistoća via email at [email protected] or by phone at 01 6146 400. If it concerns improperly discarded bulky or illegal waste, it is best to report it to the City of Zagreb's Municipal Police.
