Huge Trash Buildup Totally Covers Section of Balkan River

Some disturbing images from Europe Last week: The Drina river, a 215-mile waterway that makes up much of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, was covered with garbage.

The accumulation of waste bags what is an otherwise beautiful setting. The northern reaches of the river are known for their fishing, to Britannica. The garbage accumulated after inflow at a rubbish barrier from the river bank landfills, according to the Associated Press.

The AP reports that unauthorized landfills are common in the area and that river damming is unfortunately common when rainy weather increases water flow, to the extent that locals avoid rafting on the river during ‘garbage season’.

When there is heavy rainfall, flooding, or both, the Drina and its tributaries can carry more garbage to its destination: a garbage blockade spanning the river near Visegrad, Bosnia. The barricade spanning the river was erected by a downstream Bosnian hydroelectric power station, the AP reported. The plant, which draws its strength from the natural movement of the Drina, did not want to any garbage clogging the dam.

Dejan Furtula, a member of local environmental group Eko Centar Visegrad, told the AP that the flow of garbage has been exacerbated by a week of heavy rain and that an estimated 350,000 cubic feet of garbage are clogging the Drina.

It can take about six months to take the trash to a nearby landfill. Click through for more photos of the garbage blockade.