“Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” — C. P. Scott, 1921.
“Ministry of Smoke and Pollution”: activists blame the government for landfill fires
Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 3 July 2025
Activists and citizens concerned about environmental pollution and fires at waste dumps in Elbasan and Vlorë protested today outside the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
Called together by the organisation Qëndresa Qytetare, they demanded accountability and a response from the institutions, symbolically renaming the ministry the “Ministry of Smoke and Pollution”.
Wearing masks and holding placards, the activists denounced the high levels of pollution released by the fire at the Elbasan waste dump.
According to measurements by Co-PLAN and Milieukontakt during the Elbasan landfill fire, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) reached up to 331 µg/m³, a value their report compared with the EU’s one-hour limit of 200 µg/m³. Carbon dioxide of 521–794 ppm and methane of 5–8 ppm were also reported, above the background levels used in the report; the organisations warned of public-health risks. Yet no institution issued a warning to citizens about protective measures.
“The ministry remained silent in the face of a recurring and predictable emergency,” said Migen Qiraxhi, a representative of Qëndresa Qytetare, in a statement delivered outside the ministry.
The activists stressed that fires at waste dumps have become a common occurrence in Tirana, Elbasan and Vlorë.
“They are a consequence of the failure of the incinerator project, which has swallowed millions of euros in public money,” Qiraxhi continued. “In Elbasan, the incinerator that cost 42 million euros has not prevented a single fire.”
This year alone, at least three large-scale waste fires have been recorded across the country. According to the activists, images of smoke covering tourist areas such as those in Vlorë “have become a symbol of Albania’s environmental shame.”
Firefighters without equipment, institutions without accountability
The fires also exposed another failure: the dire state of the fire service.
“Four vehicles from the ’80s, incapable of tackling even a warehouse fire, were used to fight the flames at a waste dump, which engulfed the whole city of Elbasan in a matter of hours, while aerial intervention was not even considered as an option,” Qëndresa Qytetare stressed in its statement.
The activists recalled the difficult moments in the struggle against the flames. Images of firefighters putting out fires with branches show the lack of investment in this important service for the country.
The activists cited 1,077 fires and 43,466 hectares damaged by fire for 2024, figures presented by civil-protection director Haki Çako to parliament in September that year. The number of fires was almost twice the 544 reported for 2023. According to the activists, this situation had passed without any institutional analysis.
Qëndresa stressed that, while the country burns, the institutions choose silence and a lack of accountability. The activists therefore called for urgent action by the Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK) and prosecutors’ offices to establish responsibility.
* This article was reviewed and corrected on 8 October 2026.