When a foreign ambassador publicly says he is „shocked” by something in your country, it's usually not a compliment. EU Ambassador Mihalis Rokas visited Struga's landfill and warned that the problem demands an urgent response - because the dump is too close to populated areas, the river Crn Drim, the water supply and Lake Ohrid. In other words, rubbish a step away from what we put on the postcards.

„The problem is big and cannot wait only on the long-term solution,” Rokas judged, referring to the regional waste system planned in Novaci. He called for urgent measures while the regional facility is being built. Translated: nice plans for the future don't help while the landfill grows today beside a UNESCO-protected lake.

And it is growing, literally. Environmental activist Gligorie Katoski warned that the landfill has grown from around 22 metres high in 2021 to around 30 metres today, and is calling for it to be relocated entirely and the land restored. Nine metres of piled-up waste in under five years - that's a pace no „long-term plan” can catch up with unless it starts now.

Struga's mayor, Mendi Ćura, claims there is a coordination body for the regional landfill, that the funds are secured and that a tender is expected soon. Promises the Balkans know well. The question is simple: will the tender appear before or after the landfill reaches the water? Because Lake Ohrid doesn't wait on coordination bodies - and once it's polluted, no tender will bring it back.