Piles and piles of garbage bags are accumulating on the sidewalks of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. For weeks, residents have been unable to throw their trash into the containers because they are overflowing. In some areas, the bags reach the height of a third-story building, residents report. In others, stray animals rummaging through the waste are scattering it throughout the city. The result? An unbearable stench and a rodent infestation that has forced authorities to declare a state of public health emergency.