Skopje's mayor Ortse Gjorgjievski announced an "offensive" on Vardarishte - the degassing process has begun, waste gases are being collected from 22 wells, and surface cleaning is underway in parallel. The ultimate goal: transform Vardarishte into "the largest mega-park in Skopje."

Sounds great, but activists from "STOP for Vardarishte" see things differently. "The promises aren't visible on the ground," they responded, reminding everyone that previous pledges to resolve the landfill remained just words.

The history of promises for Vardarishte is longer than the landfill itself. Every city administration has announced a "final solution" - and every one left the problem for the next. Is this time different? 22 degassing wells sounds concrete. But Skopje has learned not to trust promises until it sees the park with its own eyes.