FLASH NEWS
Fire at waste disposal site, questions over Bushati landfill management
2026-04-20 19:28:37 / AKTUALITET
At the Bushati landfill, thick smoke rises continuously from the hearth and spreads into the air, covering large areas of land. A gray curtain is visible on the horizon over the cities of Vau i Dejës and Shkodra, while the heavy smell of burning waste suffocates.
The doors and windows of houses around the Bushati landfill have remained closed for the past two days, as the heavy air has not only suffocated residents, but has also fueled anxiety about their future in the area. They complain that the fields are no longer producing, while daily routine has been replaced by fear of toxins.
“I planted vegetables, but my vegetables are getting sick. From whom? From pollution. We can't even eat our vegetables,” says an elderly woman, a resident of the area. “Imagine yourself living here, how do you live?,” she added, emphasizing that she was getting ready to go to Italy with her daughters.
The environmental emergency caused by the fire at the Bushati landfill quickly became the issue of the day in Shkodra, raising questions about the way waste is managed.
The cloud of toxic smoke over the Bushat sky is not an unknown phenomenon in Albania. It brings to mind the repeated scenarios of environmental disasters in Vlora and Elbasan due to burning waste fields. In Bushat, the situation is the same after suspicions that the fire was caused by the overflow of the landfill.
According to preliminary data, Sunday's fire burned about 2,000 m3 of waste spread over 500 square meters of land, out of the total area of 23 hectares of the landfill. About 20 firefighters, assisted by vehicles and personnel from the municipalities of Lezha, Tirana and Kamza, were deployed to extinguish the fire.
On Monday, the hotbed continues to be active underground, keeping the risk of reactivation present. For residents, the damage is incalculable and directly related to their economic survival.
“If the landfill is not managed well, we have done our job here. Any kind of plant cannot grow here,” says another resident of the area. “I worked inside (the landfill) for 2 years, it burned down, but the situation was managed quickly. But this time there has been major pollution, if it continues like this, this place is finished,” he added.
Meanwhile, the reaction of the institutions has been coordinated to indicate that the situation is under control. The Prefect of Shkodra, Holta Duda, declared that there is no danger to the apartments, while emphasizing that the situation is being monitored. The authorities tend to classify the event as accidental, reinforced also by the deputy mayor of the Municipality of Vau i Dejës, Elvis Preçi, who told the media that "the flames are not intentional."
The same line has been taken by the State Police. "The Crime Investigation Specialists of the Vau i Dejës Police Station referred the materials to the Prosecutor's Office for evaluation, after yesterday, in the Landfill in the village of Shkjezë, it is suspected that a fire accidentally broke out," the official information distributed by the police states.
But for environmental specialists, labeling it an "accident" is not enough to close the file on this massive pollution.
Environmental expert, Imeldi Sokoli, emphasizes the need for an in-depth investigation, especially in conditions where the volume of waste has increased significantly.
"From what is being said, the causes have been called accidental, but investigations are needed into this environmental massacre. Bushati's company grants concessions for the management of the landfill and for this there should have been stronger monitoring so that they do not pose a risk as in the case in question," said Sokoli.
He also raises the alarm over the landfill's capacity, linking this to the alarming increase in pollution in the urban areas around it.
"There is a limited capacity in terms of waste collection. I think we are close to the critical point of filling up around 80%, we need to invest in increasing the size of the landfill," Sokoli told BIRN.
"However, this pollution has a high impact on the environment. In some points in the city of Shkodra at night we have four times higher pollution," he added.
Official data on the operation of the landfill reveals a mixed management structure between the state and the private sector, under constant pressure of volumes. According to the head of the Bushati landfill, Gjergj Vasija, the facility, which opened in 2008, processes between 5,000 and 8,000 tons per month.
"The Bushati landfill was opened in 2008. After 2018, a contract was signed with the Baker Albania company, which deals with the management of the landfill and its control. In recent years, the volume of waste deposited in this landfill has increased significantly, reaching several hundred tons per day," he said.
He explained that two companies operate at the landfill, one is a local enterprise with 10 employees, part of the local municipality, and the other is Baker Albania, as a contracted manager, which employs around 20 people who deal with maintenance and other services. /BIRN
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