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· collected 2026-09-05 · by AFP; The Associated Press
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Zagreb on Saturday to demand that Croatia's government clean up a vast illegal dump of hazardous waste in the Lika region, which they say is poisoning the area. The protesters are angry that despite promises from Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's government, no action has been taken to remove over 30,000 tonnes of medical and industrial waste buried near Gospic. Police arrested 13 people in February for their role in importing and dumping the waste, which earned them more than $4m before being uncovered. The protesters are calling for a complete cleanup plan with binding deadlines within 20 days and the removal of all buried waste within three months.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, to demand that the government clean up a massive dump of hazardous waste. The protest, one of the largest in years, was sparked by frustration over the government's failure to remove 30,000 tonnes of waste, including medical and industrial material, buried near the town of Gospic in the mountainous Lika region. The waste has been stored there since 2023, when it was imported from Italy, and residents claim it is poisoning their air, soil, and water. 13 people were arrested in February for illegally importing and dumping the waste. Despite the government's promise to clean up the site, environmental groups say little progress has been made, and protesters are calling for urgent action. The protest was attended by Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija, who is known for his roles in Hollywood films such as "Snatch" and "Mission: Impossible II".
Written for “Croatian Toxic Waste Protests” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 4844 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-05
Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through the Croatian capital demanding the government urgently clear a vast illegal dump of hazardous waste that residents say is poisoning a once-pristine mountain region.
asserted
residents → march → region
Saturday’s demonstration in Zagreb was one of the largest protests Croatia has seen in years, driven by growing frustration that authorities have spent months failing to remove more than 30,000 tonnes of waste, including medical and industrial material, buried near the town of Gospic in the mountainous Lika region.
asserted
authorities → see → region
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show → fail → life
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drivers → threaten → blockade
The anger has widened into a broader challenge to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s conservative government, which opponents accuse of corruption and of covering up the pollution’s true scale.
asserted
opponents → widen → scale
Police and Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, arrested 13 people in February over the illegal importing and dumping of the waste, brought in from elsewhere in the bloc since 2023.
asserted
Police → arrest → 2023
Investigators said the scheme earned suspects more than $4m before it was uncovered at an abandoned industrial site outside Gospic.
asserted
it → say → Gospic
Plenkovic visited the site last week and said his government had chosen a contractor to begin removing the waste, the first phase of a promised cleanup.
asserted
government → visit → cleanup
Croatian officials have also said soil and water tests around Gospic have not shown contamination, a claim that clashes with an assessment published last month by Croatia’s anticorruption agency, which found elevated metal levels in the soil and detected PFAS chemicals, known as “forever chemicals” for how long they persist, in nearby groundwater.
uncertain
they → say → groundwater
That gap between the government’s assurances and the pollution findings is what brought crowds into Zagreb’s main square on Saturday, where organisers demanded a complete cleanup plan with binding deadlines within 20 days and the removal of all buried waste within three months.
asserted
organisers → bring → months
Many protesters said they no longer trusted official explanations for how so much waste had gone unnoticed for so long.
asserted
waste → say → explanations
“This is not a tragedy, this is a crime,” demonstrator Ivan Rittinger told The Associated Press news agency, arguing that someone had profited while officials looked away.
asserted
officials → tell → agency
Vjekoslav Busic, who leads the Gospic Is Our Home community group that organised the march, told the crowd the failure went beyond any single official, asking who had built the institutions and appointed the people that let the pollution continue for years.
asserted
pollution → lead → years
The rally drew lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including the centre-left Social Democratic Party and Most, a smaller anticorruption party whose name means “bridge”, alongside the well-known Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija, a sign of how far the anger has spread beyond any one faction.
asserted
anger → draw → faction
Environmental experts say the damage has stayed local so far, but warn the region’s porous terrain and rivers could eventually carry pollutants towards the Adriatic Sea, a coastline the region’s tourism depends on.
uncertain
tourism → say → Sea
Plenkovic has dismissed the criticism as an attempt by rivals to exploit the scandal, even as prosecutors continue investigating a Croatian company accused of burying toxic waste at several sites beyond Gospic.
asserted
prosecutors → dismiss → Gospic
