Hydra dump fire emitting toxic smoke for fifth day
A fire that started on Sunday at a garbage dump on Hydra, just 3 kilometers from the main town, continues to befoul the atmosphere at one of the most famous island destinations near the Greek capital.
“The situation is not so bad during the day, but at night, when the wind dies down, it’s unbearable. It burns our eyes and throats,” Horst Hansen, a German with a home on the island, said on Wednesday.
According to Hydra Mayor Giorgos Koukoudakis, efforts are under way to control the situation, but the smoldering trash – made worse by the prevalence of plastic – cannot be buried until it stops smoking. “The fumes have not been so intense,” he says.
Koukoudakis adds that the municipal authority has applied for funding to build an 11-million-euro sanitary landfill and composting unit.
“If all goes well, we will put it to tender within the year,” he says.
