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Incinerator fire in Elbasan/Vengu: It released harmful gases, but don't be complacent! Be careful with concepts
2025-07-08 14:03:01 / POLITIKË
The fire in the waste collection area, near the Elbasan incinerator, was extinguished after 6-7 days, but left behind an environmental disaster caused by toxic smoke emitted from the burning of various urban and industrial waste.
The smoke has been inhaled by the residents of Elbasan for about a week, becoming a health hazard, and the consequences will be felt for years to come. It is suspected that the fire was intentional, with the "authors" aiming to burn mountains of waste because the incinerator, for which millions of euros have been spent, is non-functional.
Today, the Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, appeared again in Elbasan to promote the fire extinguishing, but in the meantime, instead of taking responsibility, they criticize journalists.
Vengu asked journalists to be careful with the term "environmental disaster", while he himself admitted that harmful gases were released, with firefighters being the most injured. Also, according to Vengu of Rama, journalists should not be complacent about this.
"Shouldn't these measures have been taken earlier, in order to prevent this environmental catastrophe in Elbasan?" - was the question asked by journalists.
"I would like you to be careful with the concepts and terminology you use. It was a situation that was not at all desirable from an environmental point of view. There are two elements, as far as gas elements are concerned, we had carbon dioxide, definitely harmful in large quantities, which was most harmful to the personnel exposed there. This does not mean that we should be complacent in such situations. We must definitely prevent them, we are doing it together with the Ministry of Interior", said Vengu.
It is not the first time that both the incinerator landfill and scrap metal waste have caught fire, causing extensive pollution, but that the investigations and legal penalties have in no case been proportionate to the damage caused.
The non-functional Elbasan landfill and incinerator are located about 2 kilometers to the right of the road axis connecting Bradashesh with the city's Ring Road. They are managed by the public company "Eco-Elb", owned by the 7 constituent municipalities of the Elbasan district, and administered by Leli Kaja.
Currently, Leli Kaja's "Eco-Elb" is under investigation by the Elbasan Prosecutor's Office, an investigation that started precisely with an arson attack. The investigation initially began in 2023 for "Destruction of property by fire" and "Air pollution", but now it turns out to have extended deep into the economic activity of this company and the 7 municipalities that are owners.
The company "Eco-Elb", created by all the municipalities of the region to manage and incinerate urban waste, "Eco-Elb", took over the Elbasan landfill and incinerator at the end of 2021, after the financial scandal, which involved officials of various levels and the owners in letters and de facto of the concession company "Albtek Energy", contracted by Edi Rama's government for the construction of this public work.
But, according to an investigation by the Elbasan Prosecutor's Office, it is believed that the "Eco-Elb" company has also become a financial pit, where 9 million euros of public funds have been spent, without providing any real service on the ground.
Citizens have paid taxes for waste cleanup, while the waste has been left scattered in nature and taxpayers' money has ended up in the pockets of a tight network of individuals connected to local government.
“ECO-ELB” had as its mission the processing and incineration of waste, a vital service for the community and the environment in the Elbasan region. But investigations have revealed that despite continuous payments and optimistic financial statements, the service was not actually performed on the ground.
Instead of functional plants, there is only a fictitious mechanism to generate invoices and squander public funds.
According to investigations, the company only deals with the administration and collection of waste in the open spaces of the incinerator, but does not provide waste incineration services, as the Elbasan incinerator is not working.
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