Santorini: Garbage with… a view to the sea

The “microscope” of the Ombudsman was once again, last week, the landfill that has been operating for years in Santorini, a stone’s throw from Fira. In an autopsy carried out by a group of expert scientists of the Independent Authority, it was found that the site continues to illegally receive the island’s waste, which is piled in a “fillet” plot in the heart of the Caldera. Maybe it’s the trash with the…best view on the planet.

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Expansion of the landfill

In fact, as reported to OT by the Assistant Ombudsman Ms. Dafni Filippakis and the specialist scientist of the Authority Ms. Antonina Papathanasoglou, the “front” of the dump has also extended to the area around the active cell which has been occupied with excavation, construction and demolition waste (AEKK), old electrical appliances, tires and even damaged vehicles.

In the illegal Uncontrolled Waste Dumping Area – for which Greece pays the EU a fine of 80,000 euros for each six months it remains active – the piles of garbage reach a height of about ten meters. According to the Ombudsman, the long-term operation of the municipal landfill in the Caldera of Thira is “an extreme example of environmental damage in a highly touristic and at the same time an area that is one of the 100 monuments of UNESCO’s world geological heritage”.

The area in question has been used as a landfill since 2003, while since 2017 the creation of an integrated waste management facility (WMSF) on the island had been launched. In fact, over the last eight years, the case has often concerned the Ombudsman, however, despite his mediation, nothing has changed. In 2020, the Independent Authority requested the assistance of the Environmental Inspectorate of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (ΠΕΝΕΝ), which ultimately referred the audit to the Directorate of Environment and Spatial Planning of Cyclades. In the autopsy carried out three years ago, it was found, once again, the uncontrolled disposal and disposal of a large volume of mixed, mainly domestic, waste.

After the new spot check by the Ombudsman last week, an escalation of actions towards the relevant agencies is expected. However, despite the checks and findings, the situation has not only not improved, but is getting worse. After all, the restoration of the landfill in Santorini can only be done with the creation of an appropriate waste treatment plant.

The actions of the Municipality of Thira

“Unfortunately, we are unacceptable. All these years until today, all the garbage ends up in the landfill”, admits the mayor of Thira, Mr. Antonios Sigalas, speaking to OT. However, as he claims, from 2019 a strategic plan began to be implemented in order to proceed with the proper management of the 25,000 tons of waste that is produced on the island annually and today ends up at the landfill.

The waste management unit

Thus, a study was carried out for the waste management unit and at the end of 2020 a request was submitted to the PPP General Secretariat for the project to proceed with a partnership between the State and the private sector. At the end of 2021 it got the “green light” and 8.35 million euros were credited from the Public Investment Program for the construction of the unit which is estimated at 17.5 million euros. In total, its construction and operating costs for 25 years are expected to reach 59.5 million euros.

In July 2022, a tender was announced for (via PPP) the creation and management of the new unit. Four companies and consortia expressed interest, bids were unsealed last October, but it is not yet known who will move on to the second phase. As Mr. Sigalas mentions, the contractor will be judged based on three criteria. “The company that, based on its offer, will leave less residue from the processing of garbage, will propose a greater percentage of recycling within the unit and will charge a lower gate fee per ton to the municipality”, notes the mayor of Thiras, who points out that the new unit will also include heat treatment of residues. According to Mr. Sigalas, the project is expected to be operational in 2026.

In the meantime

But the question is what will be done with waste management until then. It is noteworthy that the mayor of Thiras was arrested last March because, as he himself emphasizes, the contractor he had contracted to “bury” the garbage abandoned the project and the situation at the dump was dramatic.

As Mr. Sigalas says, “there was no legal way to outsource it to another contractor and the issue was finally resolved by legislative regulation”. Thus, law 5037/2013 provided that in part of the “Alonaki” area of the Municipality of Thira, a transitional urban waste management unit with the possibility of processing mixed urban waste and pre-selected organic waste can be installed. The unit will operate until the Integrated Waste Management Facility is operational and in any case until March 2028.

Temporary space

According to the mayor, there is a study on the interim management of Santorini’s garbage, with the location of a temporary, transitional area where “we will bundle the garbage until the construction of the new, modern unit is completed.” As he explains, it has been delayed because “the site is in Zone 1 of the Caldera, and we had to get an exception to be able to install non-permanent structures such as a conveyor belt, a garbage sorting machine and a baler. All that remains is the signing of the environmental terms by the Region to begin.”

The compost that will be produced from the temporary management, as the mayor emphasizes, will be used to cover the landfill, while the residue estimated at 40% to 45% of the waste will be baled and will be the first to enter the new unit when built, i.e. in three years. According to the mayor, the municipality has secured 4 million euros from the “Antonis Tritsis” program for the restoration of the landfill, with the relevant permit having received three extensions to date.