Corfu hoteliers getting desperate over trash pileup

Corfu hoteliers say they are mulling legal action to prompt authorities to settle a dispute over the Ionian island’s main landfill with people that live nearby who have blockaded the site for over two weeks, demanding it be shut down or rehabilitated, and leading to the buildup of massive piles of trash.

Corfu Hoteliers’ Association president Panayiotis Bramos told Kathimerini Thursday that “tourists have been complaining, canceling reservations and posting photographs on social media.” He added that hotels are running out of storage and freezer space to keep their trash in so that they don’t add to the problem.

Sources on the island – which last year received 1.1 million foreign arrivals and sees annual revenues of over 500 million euros from tourism – said that tour operators have also started expressing concern, while the Corfu Medical Association, for its part, has warned that unless steps are taken, the mounting trash could pose a public health hazard.