Landfill fires polluting air in Serbia

According to data from the Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP), the number of landfill fires has risen from 2,100 in 2024 to 2,217 in 2025 while the UN Environment Program (UNEP) confirmed the number of an average of 6 landfill fires a day across the country. UNEP said that the fires show that the waste management system is not working with most of the waste going to unauthorized landfills.

The official figure for unauthorized landfills is 2,689 but unofficial records show more than 3,500. The Serbian government planned for 26 strategic landfills to manage waste but country has only 12.

Under the law on waste management, that job falls to the local administrations which do not have the needed funds. Waste management experts told N1 that the system is based on setting a location for a landfill where the local communal services dump waste regardless of whether the site has been prepared or if measures are in place to protect the environment.

Some assessments put the number of air pollution-related deaths in Serbia at 10-15,000 a year.