As per reports, as of Wednesday (17 September), the blockade of the Bliznaci bridge in Skopje, which connects the municipalities of Aerodrom and Gazi Baba, is scheduled to continue every day from 1800 hours local time (1600 hours UTC) until 1900 hours local time (1700 hours UTC) until the pollution in Skopje is completely resolved.

The demonstrations are a part of a citizens’ initiative called Stop for Vardarishtein. The demands from the citizens are as follows:

• Urgent measures to extinguish the active fires at the landfill.
• Continuous security of the site with physical presence by the Ministry of Interior and/or ARM members to prevent new fires.
• Installation of a fence around the entire landfill.
• Installation of cameras, including thermal cameras, at multiple points in Vardarishte, with 24/7 public online access.
• Urgent allocation of financial resources from both local and central governments to rehabilitate and close the Vardarishte landfill in line with environmental standards.
• Establishment of an independent commission to investigate the causes of the fire and assign responsibility.
• Complete reform of the waste management system through adoption of the zero-waste concept.