Croatia’s toxic waste dump scandal shows the cost of Europe’s ‘forever chemicals’
by https://euobserver.com/author/petra-pavlovicova/ · EUobserverA protest in Zagreb against the delayed cleanup of illegally dumped hazardous waste in Lika region. Source: Mihaela Bjelokapić.
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By Petra Pavlovičová,
Brussels
,
More than a year after thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste were discovered at an illegal dumping site in Gospić in Croatia, the clean-up has yet to begin.
In the meantime, however, the evidence of PFAS contamination in groundwater is raising questions about the chemicals’ growing role in the country’s industry.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Zagreb earlier this month (5 September) to protest over harmful waste that has been illegally dumped in Croatia and remains uncleared.
The demonstration was the latest expression of anger over a scandal that began in February 2025, when several illegal waste sites were discovered around Gospić, in the Lika region of central Croatia. One of the largest, known as the ‘Silos’ site, is believed to contain some 35,000 to 45,000 tonnes of hazardous plastic and medical waste.
Residents are living beside the site while waiting for answers. Complete analyses of the surrounding soil and water have not been made public, according to the campaign initiative pressing the authorities to release them.
“This is not one town’s problem. It is a question of the water we drink and the sea that millions of people visit every year,” the initiative says.
The chronology of the scandal is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
In February 2025, authorities discovered the illegal waste sites and opened an investigation. Over the following year, citizens repeatedly demanded that the results of soil and water analyses be published.
In June 2026, authorities estimated the cost of cleaning up the waste at about €50m. No clean-up work had begun.
On 27 June, thousands of people took part in the “Walk for Lika”, marching about 5km from the contaminated site towards a lithium plant. On 15 July, a deadline set by the citizens' initiative for the government to respond to its formal demands expired without an answer.
PFAS found in groundwater
Croatia's anti-corruption agency, USKOK, which is investigating the illegal dumping, released case materials following significant public interest in the investigation.
Among the documents was a report from the Croatian Institute of Public Health indicating that PFAS – a group of highly persistent chemicals often described as 'forever chemicals' – had been detected in groundwater samples taken near the Gospić site.
"Springs surface along the coast, into the sea you swim in,“ warns the citizens’ initiative.
The finding matters because PFAS do not simply disappear when a product reaches the end of its life. Many of these chemicals are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate over time.
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A protest in Zagreb against the delayed cleanup of illegally dumped hazardous waste in Lika region. Source: Mihaela Bjelokapić.
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Author Bio
Petra Pavlovičová is a reporter at EUobserver. She studied Political Sciences and Journalism in Brussels. She worked and gathered experience in Belgian daily press Le Soir, Slovak redaction of Dennik SME and in the Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak in Bratislava.
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