An important agreement between Greece and the European Commission for the construction of recycling units was announced by the Ministry of the Interior, paving the way for critical waste management projects.

In particular, community support for the implementation of Recovery and Recycling Units in our country can reach up to 85%, from the NSRF 2021-2027, if specific goals for waste management are achieved.

The above agreement between Greece and the European Commission was announced at the event of the General Secretariat for Coordination of Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, held (6/9), in the context of the 88th Thessaloniki International Exhibition.

In total, the resources available for the construction of Recovery and Recycling units that will be allocated by the NSRF 2021-2027 program: “Environment and Climate Change” (PEKA), amount to 600 million euros.

In the context of the event, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, welcomed the above agreement and referred to the initiatives taken in our country for effective waste management. As he characteristically said: “The waste management effort in Greece has, historically, some deep weaknesses. It involves a reality of fines and total failure. Today, the government is completely reversing this reality, in cooperation with the Local Government. From where the vast majority of waste was in illegal management, we are moving to a “state of the art” management, with innovative units, which have nothing to envy from those of advanced European countries”.

As Mr. Skylakakis added: “Circular economy, however, does not only mean management, but also recycling. And this is precisely the subject of the bill that we recently submitted to public consultation. We need a complete change of mentality in terms of recycling, which is passed on to households. Our obligation is to facilitate and constantly encourage households, with easy and understandable tools, to adopt recycling movements in their daily life. The rational management of waste will mean, at the same time, the reduction of collection fees. We should put forward a win-win process, where organic waste will gain great value. Recycling creates wealth, which will return to Greek society.”

For his part, the general secretary of the Waste Management Coordination, Manolis Grafakos, said: “The agreement is a practical recognition of the significant progress that has been made in the country over the last five years in the field of waste management. Greece has built up credibility and achieved this agreement, which essentially ensures that all the necessary waste management facilities the country needs will be completed within the next five years. The way is now open, so that within the next six months contracts will be signed for the construction of the large units of the Eastern and Western sectors of Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, Kavala, but also smaller ones such as Andros, Tinos etc. Thus, with specific modern infrastructure projects, we are changing the management of waste in Greece and from tailings in the EU, we are putting our country in the position it deserves”.

Carsten Rasmussen, the head of the Greece-Cyprus Administrative Unit of the General Directorate of Regional Policy and Urban Development of the European Commission, characterized the agreement as a “giant” step to strengthen recycling in our country. As he said, expressing his optimism, if the appropriate initiatives are promoted, the delays that have occurred until now may ultimately turn out to be particularly beneficial for our country, as Greece is given the opportunity to obtain a highly advanced policy for the circular economy.

The agreement for this purpose is the result of coordinated cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.

It is noted that a corresponding percentage also applied in the NSRF programming period 2014-2020.

The Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, addressed the event. The agreement was presented by the general secretary of Waste Management Coordination, Manolis Grafakos, the general secretary of ERDF, TC and ECB Sectoral Programs Management, Giorgos Zervos and Carsten Rasmussen.

The event was coordinated by APE-MBE journalist Ilias Palialexis.