Poor Waste Management, a Public Concern in Berat

TIRANA, October 9

The city of Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most visited destinations in Albania suffers poor waste management. So far in 2017, over 60,000 tourists have visited the city. This means that the number of visitors increased by 35 percent compared to the previous year. Based on the data provided by the municipality, the average length of stay for visitors was 2.6 nights while the average expenditure per tourist is Euro 140. However, the citizens of Berat raise a concern on the poor management of solid waste. Pollution on Osum River that runs in the middle of the city is still a challenge that raises concerns among the citizens of Berat.
Berat is promoted and included in tour guides by Albanian and international agencies. Tourists from all over the world come to see the white city of 1,000 windows.
The city doesn’t have a proper landfill and most of the solid waste is dumped into Osum River.
‘Too much rubbish,’ the tourists say. The municipality of Berat is expecting to implement a project on the construction of a new landfill financed by the German and Swiss governments.
Currently, solid-waste is dumped in a site on the banks of Osum River.

News Source: ATA