Local officials and residents from the wider Piraeus area yesterday staged a protest on the nearby islet of Psyttaleia, which houses Attica’s only sewage treatment plant, over plans to burn over 100,000 tons sludge that have built up there.

A number of prefects, mayors, politicians and some 200 residents sailed the short distance from the mainland to Psyttaleia to voice their concerns that the burning of treated waste would be dangerous to the local environment.

They want the sludge to be transported to landfills instead. “We will not allow new environmental crimes. Whoever thinks they can play around with the environment and the health of citizens is mistaken,” said Athens and Piraeus Prefect Fofi Yennimata. “This is endangering the lives of our children. The incineration on Psyttaleia will not take place,” said Piraeus Prefect Yiannis Michas.

Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias said last month that until an additional treatment plant was built on the island, in mid-2007, the sludge would be burned. Souflias and the Athens Water and Sewage Company (EYDAP) argued the incineration would be safe but environmentalists and local officials do not appear to have been convinced. “If you burn the sludge, you have dioxins. That’s simple chemistry,” said Nikos Haralambidis, director of Greenpeace in Greece. “If this is such an ideal solution, as the company (EYDAP) suggests, then why is it not being adopted as a permanent solution?” said Yennimata.

EYDAP says that 120,000 tons of sludge has accumulated on Psyttaleia but Souflias put the figure at 180,000 tons, while Greenpeace said it is up to 200,000 tons. Fears have been expressed by protesters that the amassing sludge could lead to pollution of the surrounding waters in the Saronic Gulf.

The buildup of treated waste on Psyttaleia began in 2003, when Attica local authorities prevented EYDAP from transferring the sludge to the Ano Liosia landfill because it was operating at full capacity and shipments of the muck caused landslides.