The Ishëm River carries tons of plastic waste and hospital waste into the sea, 2 million euros in the "trash"

Fiks Fare denounced on Wednesday evening an environmental massacre in the Adriatic Sea, at the mouth of the Ishëm River.

Tons of plastic and hospital waste have invaded a long coastline, on both sides of the Ishmi Delta. The situation was alarming, as no state authority, whether local or central, had intervened to minimize this massacre.

On the contrary, these institutions are also responsible for the non-functioning of a cleaning plant on the Ishëm River, which was supposed to collect waste so that it did not end up in the sea. In 2017, an investment worth 2 million euros was made to clean the river from plastic waste, but it has not worked for a single day. The entire investment has been thrown away, while the estuary has turned into a veritable landfill, where you can find all kinds of waste. Hospital waste was in abundance, on the Adriatic coast.

The Fiks Fare group traveled to the mouth of the Ishëm River. The garbage and waste were spread over a very large area, with colossal pollution. Plastic waste has invaded the entire seashore.

But where does that waste come from?

The Ishëm River flows through Central Albania and is 74 km long; the basin area is 673 km2 and the average altitude above sea level is 357 m. It is formed by the confluence of the Tirana River, where the waters of the Lana also flow. Meanwhile, the Ishëm River is joined by two streams, the Tërkuza and the Zeza. Its delta is located near Cape Rodoni, where the waters flow into the Adriatic Sea.

The malfunction of the plant, which was supposed to collect plastic waste a few kilometers from the mouth of the Ishmi, has brought about all this environmental massacre. Meanwhile, in all that sandy and marine surface, in addition to plastic waste and other waste, there is also hospital waste.

The entire area had been transformed into a huge landfill, where you can find all kinds of waste. The Fix camera filmed the Ishmi Delta, full of plastic bottles, plastic waste. But the most scandalous thing was that on the seashore, or even in the waters of the Adriatic, you can find dozens of hospital waste.

The situation was alarming, to the extent that no institution, whether local or central, had taken action for years. Both sides of the Delta, one belonging to the Municipality of Kurbin and the other on the side of Cape Rodoni (Protected Area) belonging to the Municipality of Durrës, had not been cleaned and maintained. The waste was spread over a huge maritime line, on both sides of the Delta.

Meanwhile, Fiksi also traveled to the village of Gotull in Kurbin, about 2 kilometers before the Ishëm River flows into the sea. There, a plant was built to prevent river waste from ending up in the sea.

According to documents available to Fiks Fare, in January 2017 a study was carried out for the facility “Ishëm River Estuary Cleaning Plant and Coastal Requalification, Kurbin”. The document explains that the purpose is to retain and collect solid and plastic waste. “The system is composed of two recovery stations, located about 10 meters from each other,” the documents stated.

According to them, it was determined that the conveyor belt collection system would be installed at the point where the two peaks of the barrier meet. The second station consists of two floating dams placed about 10 meters apart.

The tender documents also have photos of what the entire plant should look like. A voluminous environmental impact assessment was also carried out and then the tender was announced.

The tender was opened in February 2017 by the Ministry of Environment for the construction of the plant. The awarded value was 204 million lek, or about 2 million euros. The duration of the works was only 6 months, but delays led to the plant being inaugurated only in the fall of 2019. Fiksi has been following this issue continuously, where if we compare the project, how it was done and how it is now, it seems that all the money has been thrown away.

The plant was inaugurated by the then ministers of the environment, who declared that “the project aimed to clean the river and the Adriatic Sea.” But about 8 years later, the situation is the same, as plastic waste continues to flow into the sea, with the Išćem River being one of the most polluted.

Currently, in 2025, the main door of the plant is locked. There is no machinery, or even mechanisms. Currently there are only some rusty metal devices. Nature has taken its course!/ Top Channel