#ecomafia

If “the most dangerous” means sites where the kind and amount of waste make it unsafe for children to play, wander, or pick anything up, these places are especially concerning.

This is not an official “Top 10.” The state does not publish such a ranking. It is a practical list according to known quantity, type of waste, and remediation status.

1. Poznanovec, Bedekovčina — about 13,000 tons of waste, including plastics, tires, and mixed waste. Remediation is estimated at 7.5 million euros. (Croatian Radio and Television / Government of Croatia)

2. Gospić — illegal landfill — one of six national priority sites. The first phase of remediation is estimated at 2.6 million euros. (FZOEU)

3. Ježdovečka forest, Zagreb — large quantities of construction and bulky waste. The site is so problematic that physical barriers have been erected to keep trucks from entering. (local reports)

4. Pazin / illegal landfill in Istria — a long-standing illegal dumping problem where state remediation has now been initiated. (mzozt.gov.hr)

5. Samobor — illegal landfill — also among the locations for which specific remediation activities were started in 2025. (mzozt.gov.hr)

6. Jakuševec, Zagreb — not a classic “wild dump,” but a huge waste-management system, and therefore not a space for children’s play or informal waste collection.

7. Čulinečka / Struge, Zagreb — less supervised zones where, according to local reports, waste is dumped illegally.

8. Petruševec–Borovje, Zagreb — multiple illegal dumping spots. Especially problematic because waste appears near places where people pass. (local reports)

9. Locations with asbestos construction waste — even when they are not large in surface area, asbestos completely changes the risk category. This is not material that children should touch or collect. The Croatian national database specifically records asbestos construction-waste cassettes. (Data.gov.hr)

10. Any location with unknown chemical or industrial waste — precisely because, without professional categorization, nobody knows what is in the ground or among the waste. The Fund envisages investigation and waste categorization before remediation. (FZOEU)

Most important, the criteria should be stricter:

unknown waste + chemicals + asbestos + medical waste + large quantities + possible soil/water contamination = absolutely DO NOT touch.

And especially: do not organize waste collection at such locations without professional assessment and protective equipment. “Let’s clean up nature” sounds positive — but when it comes to hazardous waste, it can put children or volunteers at the greatest risk.

It is particularly significant that in 2026 the Ministry identified six priority national pollution sites. For Bedekovčina and Gospić alone, the specified phases of rehabilitation are estimated at more than 10 million euros. (FZOEU)