Protests in Croatia over illegal dumping of waste from Italy, Slovenia and Germany

In the holiday paradise of Croatia, outrage is growing over an illegal landfill where toxic waste from Italy, Slovenia and Germany is said to be stored. Tens of thousands of Croatians demonstrated in the capital Zagreb against the center-right government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, which they accused of inaction. This is reported by the news portal index.hr.

The message of many banners was that the authorities had failed to remove the garbage dump that was poisoning the groundwater near the town of Gospic. Gospic is located about 25 kilometers inland from the Dalmatian Adriatic coast, approximately halfway between Rijeka and Split.

The demonstrators traveled to Zagreb from all over the country. Among other things, they are calling for the renovation of all illegal waste dumps in Croatia, a temporary general ban on importing waste and a new waste management plan.

Europol is investigating

The topic has been brewing for a long time. As early as February 13, 2025, Croatia's public prosecutor's office had 13 people arrested in connection with the illegal dumping, with the support of Europol. The investigation has been ongoing since then.

At the time, Europol said that most of the garbage came illegally from Italy, but also from Slovenia and Germany, via various companies. This is plastic waste and toxic waste from hospitals. The suspects made at least four million euros in profit from the business.

In total, according to Europol, at least 35,000 tons of hazardous waste were illegally distributed across at least three landfills in Croatia. Croatian environmental activists, however, said that 37,000 tons of garbage had been illegally dumped in Gospic alone.

In order to circumvent Croatian environmental protection regulations, the suspects probably forged documents such as shipping documents. In it, they incorrectly identified dangerous plastic waste as being suitable for recycling, writes Europol.