The Waste Transfer Station started operating today (SMA), in the area of ​​Eleonas which, in the first phase, will serve the Municipality of Athens and the Municipality of Aigaleo.

The Waste Transfer Station has been designed with the environmental needs of the legislation in mind, the safety and functionality of the project. Based on the architectural design, and with the relevant approval of the studies by the competent committee, it has been fully integrated into the urban fabric and urban landscape of the Eleonas area. In the context of the same design, the project is complemented by green projects (shrubs, trees, grass), contributing and upgrading the image of the area environmentally and aesthetically.

In his statement, the Mayor of AthensKostas Bakoyannis, emphasized: “The Waste Transfer Station is an essential infrastructure project, one of those that change the life of the city without being seen. With the operation of the state-of-the-art Waste Transfer Station in Eleonas, we continue our effort to manage municipal waste in the most modern and sustainable way. The climate clause was our guide in this project both in terms of planning and in terms of the benefits of its operation.”

The operation of the Waste Transfer Station brings a series of environmental benefits, as the waste trucks of the Municipality of Athens travel shorter distances, with the result that the traffic load in the city is correspondingly reduced. At the same time, a significant reduction in exhaust gas emissions is achieved.

At the same time, the saving of capacity in the Sanitary Landfill (LANDFILL) also increases its lifespan, while the conditions for its more orderly operation are also created.

The Deputy Mayor of Cleanliness and Recycling of the Municipality of Athens, Nikos Avramidis, said: “Today, a new era for cleanliness in Athens begins. The Waste Transfer Station in Eleonas is the most important infrastructure project, which is at the core of a complete strategy for the integrated management of solid waste in our city and neighboring municipalities, and which will lay the new “foundations” in the cleanliness of the city. Today, the first and most important step of rationalizing and modernizing the waste management system in Athens begins and its benefits will be evident every day to the citizens of Athens.”

Capacity and infrastructure

At the state-of-the-art Eleonas Station, the following procedures will take place:

  • Compaction and transshipment of mixed waste with a capacity of 400 – 600 tons per day. It is noted that the extension of the existing Environmental Conditions Approval Permit has already begun, in order to increase the total capacity of the SMA to 1600 tons per day.
  • Shredding and transshipment of bulky waste with a capacity of 50 tons per day, and the total daily capacity is about to be increased to 120 tons per day.
  • Shredding and transshipment of green waste with a capacity of 35 tons per day and soon to be converted to 70 tons per day.

The new Waste Transfer Station has been created in an area of ​​19.5 acres and the following infrastructures operate in it:

  • Waste Transshipment Facilities with all modern systems (dedusting – deodorization system, electronic monitoring of space and environmental conditions, modern machinery).
  • Workshop – car wash
  • Police station – weighing station
  • Management building
  • Fuel building
  • Energy building
  • Rainwater tanks, sewage tanks, bridge decks and other accompanying landscaping works.
  • 28 large containers compact the waste. Each container has a capacity of 17 tons of mixed waste.
  • Within an hour, the Station receives up to 20 large garbage trucks and approximately 160-170 tons of waste.

The 13,766,226.39 euro budget project was financed by the NSRF 2014-2020 program.