Mayors to meet for talks on how to manage trash

The coming week could be significant in terms of improving Greece’s waste management, which has lagged European standards for years.

Mayors from the Peloponnese, where waste management is particularly poor, are to meet in the coming days to draft an action plan for the next few years, following a longstanding dispute between governments, local and regional authorities.

Authorities in Attica, where the problem is chronic, are struggling to implement a plan that aims to boost recycling so that only 22 percent of trash goes to landfills by 2020. Residents living near the capital’s main landfill in Fyli, northwestern Attica, have stepped up protests, calling for the dump to be closed. According to government planning, however, it is to remain in operation until at least 2020.

Another problem is the lack of funding. The estimated cost for the country’s waste management is 2.3 billion euros though only 800 million euros in European Union funding is currently available.