Chief Commander of the Zagreb Fire Brigade Siniša Jembrih warned the Mayor's Office and police about the critical situation at the former cement factory as early as June 2025, but no response ever came. Residents are desperate: 'Smoke and stench end up in our lungs.'
The problem of illegal waste dumping and burning at the former cement factory in Podsused shows no signs of abating. According to the records of the Zagreb Public Fire Brigade, they have responded to as many as 60 incidents at this location. Despite repeated warnings to the relevant institutions, a concrete response from the City of Zagreb and the police is still lacking, which has sparked outrage among local residents.
Photos showing piles of plastic, electronic waste, and car tires at the former cement factory have once again surfaced on social media. On the Facebook page "Špansko za svakoga," residents shared their frustrating experiences. "Once a big enough pile accumulates, someone sets it on fire," they describe the recurring sequence of events.
According to them, the fire is usually noticed only when smoke starts spreading, after which firefighters are called. They arrive, extinguish the fire, and leave, but the problem quickly returns. "Based on everything we hear from residents, firefighters are the only part of the system that reacts quickly and concretely every time," the group points out. What is particularly concerning is that a school is located just a hundred meters away, with a residential area nearby. "Smoke and stench don't respect property lines; they end up in the lungs of Podsused residents," they add.
Chief Commander of the Zagreb Fire Brigade Siniša Jembrih confirmed to Zagreb.info that firefighters have responded 33 times at this location in the past year, mostly to extinguish waste fires. However, as early as June 23, 2025, he sent an email to the Zagreb Police Department and the Mayor's Office detailing the escalation of the problem.
"An analysis of our interventions has shown that these are predominantly waste fires, and according to our records, as many as 60 such interventions have been recorded at the mentioned locations," Jembrih's email states.
Despite the seriousness of the situation and the concrete figures, Jembrih claims that no response to this letter ever arrived. In the message, he also proposed a concrete solution. "Given the frequency of fires and the suspicion that they are the result of illegal dumping and subsequent burning of waste, most likely by vehicles entering the area, we propose installing video surveillance at critical points," the commander stated. He believes this would enable precise identification of those responsible and consequently reduce the number of fires and the risk to people, property, and the environment.
Interviews with residents and local councilors reveal that over the past year, both municipal inspectors and police have visited the disputed location multiple times. However, each time the same pattern repeated: those dumping or burning waste were never caught in the act. An inquiry regarding actions taken, land ownership, and possible progress in the case was sent to the Zagreb Police Department and the Mayor's Office, but at the time of publication, no response had been received from those addresses. The Zagreb Fire Brigade confirmed their interventions based on citizen reports.
