ELBASAN, Albania, July 5,— For days, thick plumes of toxic smoke have risen from the burning landfill on the outskirts of Elbasan, one of Albania’s largest industrial cities. The stench of melting plastic, rotting waste, and scorched earth now hangs over entire neighborhoods. But this is not an isolated accident. It is the latest episode in what environmental experts, prosecutors, and outraged citizens describe as a man-made catastrophe — born not of natural causes, but of systemic corruption.
In Elbasan, a €140 million investment earmarked for a state-of-the-art waste incinerator has vanished. The promised facility, once hailed by Prime Minister Edi Rama as a cornerstone of Albania’s green modernization, simply doesn’t exist. Nor does the €150 million incinerator in Tirana, where construction was never completed, despite years of disbursements from public funds. The result is a waste management system in collapse — with garbage piling up, illegal fires igniting spontaneously or intentionally, and an environment on the brink.
Meanwhile in Vlora, the country’s most prominent coastal tourism destination, another landfill burned uncontrollably last week, unleashing clouds of smoke into the air as firefighters battled for days to contain it. The air remains unbreathable in parts of both cities. Health officials have reported rising cases of respiratory distress, and local residents speak of children coughing through the night.
Government officials blame heatwaves and overcapacity. But for many Albanians, these fires are not simply ecological accidents — they are the visible scars of political theft.
“This is not just a fire. It is the smoke of a stolen future,” said one resident in Elbasan.
A Phantom Infrastructure
Investigations have confirmed that key officials within the ruling Socialist Party funneled incinerator contracts through shell companies, awarding no-bid tenders and siphoning funds through offshore accounts. One former environment minister and several mid-level officials are behind bars — but many Albanians believe the real masterminds remain untouched.
“This was not a rogue operation,” said a legal expert familiar with the case. “It was a top-down criminal scheme disguised as environmental policy.”
The Elbasan incinerator was inaugurated with fanfare in 2017, presented by Rama himself as a solution to decades of uncontrolled dumping. “This is the tumor we are cutting out,” he declared. But as it turns out, the facility never became operational. Much like its counterpart in Tirana, it remains a phantom — a concrete shell or, in some places, no construction at all.
Despite the revelations, Prime Minister Rama continues to defend the project as a visionary success — a narrative increasingly out of touch with the daily reality of citizens choking on toxic fumes. During his 2025 re-election campaign, Rama doubled down, boasting that the incinerators had solved Albania’s garbage problem. “Sure, there were some problems,” he admitted on the trail. “But the air in Elbasan is clean.”
That statement has since been met with anger and disbelief as video footage of the landfill blaze went viral, showing mountains of flaming waste and black smoke enveloping residential areas.
Arrests at the Periphery, Impunity at the Top
Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) has arrested a former environment minister and several officials in connection with the incinerator scheme. Yet critics argue these arrests target scapegoats, not masterminds. “Everyone knows that those arrested were at the periphery of the project,” said one prosecutor under condition of anonymity. “The political core behind the decision-making remains untouched.”
According to court documents, contracts were awarded without competitive bidding, with multi-million euro advances granted to companies not yet formally registered. Even international names were falsely invoked for legitimacy. In one infamous instance, Rama told parliament the Tirana incinerator had the backing of renowned engineering firm Paul Wurth — a claim the company later denied.
The result is now visible in the skies above Elbasan and Vlora: choking smoke, public health warnings, and a waste system in disarray.
Political Impunity and Electoral Domination
Rama’s Socialist Party won a landslide in May 2025, securing nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats in an election that the opposition denounced as a “charade.” International observers raised concerns over media imbalance, blurred lines between state and party, and reports of pressure on public sector workers.
Critics argue that Albania is sliding toward de facto one-party rule — a process fueled by elite capture of institutions, impunity for corruption, and a propaganda machine that showcases “progress” while suppressing dissent.
“There are now two Albanias,” said a political scientist in Tirana. “The real one — polluted, emptied of its people, broken by corruption. And the official one — of summits, of bio markets, of fake reforms.”
While Rama attends high-level European summits and touts Albania’s integration progress, back home, the country faces an accelerating environmental, demographic, and economic decline.
A Nation Suffocating — Literally and Politically
The fires in Elbasan and Vlora are more than ecological disasters. They are emblematic of a state in decay.
Public health is at risk. Waste management has collapsed. Entire regions are exposed to toxic air. In the absence of functioning infrastructure, municipal authorities are left to “fight flames with shovels,” burying burning garbage under layers of soil in a desperate bid to cut off oxygen and stop the fires from spreading underground.
But even this temporary solution is failing. In Elbasan, authorities ran out of soil after five days. Reinforcements had to be trucked in from Tirana. Experts now warn that the fires could continue smoldering underground for weeks or even months.
Meanwhile, Albania’s rural and urban populations alike are shrinking. Migration is accelerating, particularly among the youth. Labor shortages are now so acute that the government has begun importing workers from the Philippines and South Asia — a stopgap measure that still leaves vital sectors understaffed.
And in Vlora — advertised as Albania’s crown jewel of Adriatic tourism — the city remains plagued not just by air pollution, but by chronic water shortages. Visitors and locals alike complain of water cuts, while hotels ration supplies during peak season.
No Accountability, No End in Sight
Ten years after Rama promised a green revolution, Albania is burning — literally and figuratively. And as the black clouds rise above Elbasan and Vlora, many are asking: how much longer can this go on?
Environmentalists are calling for a full audit of waste contracts, criminal prosecution of all senior officials involved in the incinerator scandal, and the creation of a transparent, European-standard waste management strategy.
But for now, the country remains trapped between the myths of progress and the smoke of corruption — a nation choking on its own governance.
In Elbasan, the crisis continues. The landfill has burned for over a week. Residents report difficulty breathing, children complain of irritated eyes and sore throats, and firefighters work with limited resources. The government has not offered a clear timeline for extinguishing the fire, nor has it proposed a long-term waste management plan.
Civil society is demanding a full audit of waste-related spending, prosecution of senior officials involved in the scandal, and urgent investment in real infrastructure. Environmental groups warn that unless immediate changes are made, Albania faces not just recurring fires, but a public health disaster of national scale.
“How long can a country breathe through poison?” asked one activist. “We are not just losing air — we are losing trust, we are losing people, and we are losing the future.”
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