Almost as far as the eye can see, trash spreads out over Serbia's Potpecko Lake, lapping against the dam that crosses it. Built up over many years against a backdrop of rolling rural hills, the ocean of plastic now threatens to clog up the dam's hydroelectric plant, a local activist says, and Serbian authorities have ordered an immediate clean-up. Activist Sinisa Lakovic estimates the pile of waste covers some 20,000 cubic metres, most of it from landfills upstream along the Lim river. "This is not a recent problem, but rather a problem of several decades, caused by the unsanitary landfills," Sinisa, who lives in the nearby town of Priboj, told Reuters. Drone footage shows plastic waste clogging a hydroelectric dam in Serbia CBC News Video 0:54 Serbia's Potpecko Lake is filled with plastic waste that is flowing downstream from Lim River, threatening its hydroelectric plant.

Source: CBC News January 06, 2021 23:03 UTC