Tens of Thousands March in Zagreb as Croatia's Government Still Hasn't Removed Toxic Waste Dumped in Gospić

Tens of thousands of people packed Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb on Saturday, September 5, in one of Croatia's largest protests in years. They came for one reason: a mountain of illegally dumped hazardous waste near the town of Gospić that nobody in government has managed to clean up, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

The numbers are staggering. Croatian authorities have identified between 34,000 and 37,000 metric tons of waste, buried mostly underground at an abandoned industrial site, according to AP and Reuters. It includes electronic waste, plastics, construction debris and medical waste, much of it imported from Italy in 2023 and 2024, per Reuters.

This isn't a mystery scandal. Croatian police and Europol arrested 13 people in February 2026 over the illegal importing and dumping scheme, according to AP. Europol said the suspects pocketed at least 4 million euros, roughly $4.2 million, in illegal profit. Croatia's anti-corruption agency, USKOK, says it's investigating a Croatian company for allegedly burying illegal toxic waste at multiple sites nationwide, with Gospić the largest.

Despite arrests seven months ago, the government has removed nothing. "The result to date: Not a single kilogram (pound) of hazardous waste has been removed from Gospic," said Vjekoslav Busic of the "Gospić Is Our Home" civic initiative that organized the march, according to AP and The Independent.

Government and Watchdog Don't Even Agree on the Facts

Croatian authorities say multiple water and soil tests around Gospić came back negative for contamination, according to AP. But USKOK's own expert report, published last month, found elevated metal concentrations in the soil and detected PFAS compounds, the so-called "forever chemicals," in nearby groundwater, per AP and Al Jazeera.

These are two flatly contradictory findings from within the same government apparatus. Neither AP nor Al Jazeera resolves which assessment is more reliable, and no independent third-party audit has been reported. That gap between official reassurance and the anti-corruption agency's own data is precisely what's driving public distrust.

Experts cited by AP say the damage so far appears local, but warn that the region's karst terrain, loose soil and river networks could eventually carry pollution toward the Adriatic Sea if the waste isn't removed.

What Protesters Are Demanding

Organizers want a complete remediation plan with binding deadlines: a full plan within 20 days and total removal of the buried waste within three months, according to Al Jazeera. They're also demanding an immediate ban on hazardous waste imports.

Protester Ivan Rittinger didn't mince words. "This is not a tragedy," he told reporters. "This is a crime." He said authorities are "talking about this as if it were a tragedy, as if it just happened out of nowhere," when "someone made money out of it and someone was paid to look the other way," per AP.

USKOK has an active investigation into a company over the dumping. Thirteen people face charges from the February arrests. Nobody in government has been charged with corruption or bribery in connection with the waste itself, and no source in this story establishes that officials were paid off. Rittinger's claim is his own accusation, not a documented finding.

The Government's Response

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic visited Gospić last week and announced that the government had chosen a contractor for the first phase of cleanup, according to Reuters. Officials say the site will be temporarily covered to protect it from rainwater while a long-term remediation plan is drafted.

Plenkovic has also accused political opponents of "fueling panic for political gains," per AP. That's a defense worth taking seriously given that Croatia holds elections and opposition parties have every incentive to amplify a government failure. But the underlying facts, thousands of tons still sitting in the ground more than a year after arrests, aren't in dispute by anyone, including the government.

Beyond politicians, the protest drew unusual solidarity. Rijeka Mayor Iva Rinčić organized a riverbed cleanup the same day in support, and Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija, known for roles in "Snatch" and "Mission: Impossible II," joined the Zagreb march, telling Reuters, "What has happened is a disgrace, and someone must be held accountable."

Zagreb police reported zero incidents during the massive gathering, while ambulance crews responded to six medical calls, an indicator of the crowd's size rather than any unrest, according to reporting aggregated by Novi list.

The question now is whether Plenkovic's government hits the 20-day planning deadline and three-month removal window protesters are demanding. If the contractor selected last week doesn't start moving waste soon, expect this to be back in Zagreb's main square before winter.