"Vardarište" to Be Cleaned by March, and the Park Will Take Seven to Eight Months: 2.5 Million Euros to Decontaminate the Former Landfill

For years "Vardarište" was a name Skopje residents associated with smoke and stench. Now the city is promising grass. The process of "extinguishing" the former landfill is complete, and decontamination is due to start in mid-November - over an area of about 600,000 square metres.

The plan: digging out and removing the waste, transporting it to "Drisla" and protecting the groundwater, with a deadline of next March. The work won't be run by the city but by the government, with the city helping "if needed" - that's what representatives of the "Stop for Vardarište" association were told at the last meeting. The announced contractor is the German company WTE, which is also working on the wastewater treatment plant, and supervision will be done by a French company. 2.5 million euros have been approved for decontamination and 7.5 million euros for completing the sewage collector system.

Laboratory analyses of the landfill gas, carried out by the Serbian firm "Zaštita – Beograd", show that methane concentrations are not high enough to hinder the process. But the "Zaštita – Beograd" analysis concludes that the landfill is not fully stabilised: the presence of methane and carbon dioxide means organic matter is still decomposing.

The city says that for the first time ever no fire was recorded at "Vardarište", thanks to the round-the-clock presence of the city inspectorate. The public enterprise "Ulici i patišta" (Streets and Roads) is supposed to draw up the park design by early next year and present it publicly, and the landscaping itself would take seven to eight months. Citizens will be able to submit suggestions.

The rubbish goes to "Drisla", and "Drisla" wants more money

The waste from "Vardarište" ends up at "Drisla". At the same time, the City of Skopje is proposing that the public enterprise "Drisla" get another eight million denars in subsidies this year, on top of the 22.5 million already planned - 30.5 million denars in total. The proposal comes from mayor Orce Gjorgjievski, and city councillors have to vote on it. For the modernisation of "Drisla", the city is for now analysing models, including the one used in Ljubljana.

The question of the people who live at "Vardarište" also remains open. Moving them out, which was supposed to happen several months ago, has been postponed until all the necessary conditions are in place. Gjorgjievski promises proper care for them.

A park instead of a landfill is a promise every Skopje resident would like to see kept. But the cleanup deadline is March, the park design is still being drawn, the relocation is postponed, and the waste is simply moving to another landfill that itself needs subsidies. In eight months, will grass grow - or a new deadline?