The „Krasta" landfill in the Kumanovo area is on fire again - and that in early spring, when fire prevention work is usually being done, not firefighting. The fire broke out late yesterday afternoon, and rescue teams from JP „Čistoća i zelenilo" - Kumanovo are working to contain it.

„The fire broke out in the late afternoon. The teams reacted immediately and are on site today. We have two bulldozers covering it with earth, and we hope to extinguish the fire completely soon," said Sašo Tomić, director of the public utility.

The numbers around „Krasta" are brutally instructive. The landfill has been operating since 1958. 67 years. It covers 12.5 hectares. It takes in 100-120 tons of waste daily from a city of over 100,000 residents. And it still officially operates as a „non-standard landfill" - meaning it has none of the features a modern landfill should have: an impermeable base, a leachate filtration system, gas control, a fire prevention system.

According to the plans, „Krasta" is supposed to be turned into a transfer station with a capacity of 10,000 tons, including sorting, recycling and composting zones. According to the plans - that's worth repeating. Those plans have existed for at least ten years, in different versions and under different municipal administrations. They are still „in planning".

The question nobody asks out loud is: how many years can Kumanovo live with a landfill that burns several times a year? Closed windows? Kids with asthma? The smell of burning plastic in backyards across the neighbourhoods? That's the silent cost 100,000 citizens are paying - not in denars, but in their respiratory systems.

Two bulldozers will smother the fire. Until next time.