YRE Competition 2020
Single photo reportage
11-25 years old
This is "Red Lake", a problem of Herzegovina and the entire region that is desperate for rehabilitation. A reminder of a failed factory and its forgotten landfill.
Red sludge is toxic due to high alkalinity and heavy metal content.
There are scientific papers on the topic of sludge and waste lye remediation. It can be used to produce a gelatinous coagulant which is a means of purifying industrial wastewater.
There are other ways to successfully rehabilitate the sludge, but question remains whether the regional authorities want to deal with it and try to obtain funds, which are obviously a problem.
By: Andrea Cetina