LAWR

WASTE COLLECTION Collecting waste at X-mas in Kefalonia Some wish for snow on Christmas Day, some wish for exciting presents and others wish for a waste collection after disposing of all that wrapping. Well, the latter did not come true for UK residents but for the residents based in the capital of Kefalonia that wish was fulfilled. Tim Byrne explores further. rgostoli is the capital of the island of Kefalonia and has a population of 10,633 people. The city has a modern shopping centre and is also the main port for the island, which has a thriving fishing industry. Most people would think of Kefalonia as a holiday destination for the summer months, but once the summer season has finished, Argostoli still remains a busy city. In the Christmas period, many Greek people from the mainland such as Athens, Patras and Killini, travel by ferry to Kefalonia to visit family and friends and to do their Christmas shopping. Although large volumes of waste are produced in the summer months, mainly by the hotels, apartments and tavernas, there is still plenty of waste produced in Argostoli throughout the rest of the year, especially at Christmas. Large volumes of waste are produced from Christmas par- ties, people dining out and the night clubs in Argostoli's Central Square. There are large volumes of waste to be collected on Christmas Day because most of the 1100 litre containers at the commu- nal collection points are full and there are piles of bags of waste consisting of food waste, glass beer and wine bottles as well as piles of cardboard boxes left next to the containers. Open at all times Due to large volumes of waste being produced in Argostoli both in and out of season, waste collection is carried out 365 days a year, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday. This helps to maintain the clean- liness of the capital as well as delivering an efficient and sustainable waste collec- tion service to its inhabitants and visitors. The waste collection service com- mences on Christmas Day at 5.30am for Argsotoli's two large collection vehicles and around 6.00am for its smaller satel- lite waste collection vehicle. This is the best time to start because most of the restaurants, tavernas and night clubs close at 4am on Christmas Day, so there are minimal volumes of traffic on the streets at 5.30am, thus making the waste collec- tion service very efficient and productive. Waste management on Kefalonia is the responsibility of the Intermunicipal Enterprise for Waste Management and Environmental Protection which also has responsibility for the treatment of waste for the neighbouring island of Ithaki. To provide the waste collection ser- vice on Christmas Day in Argostoli, the Intermunicipal Enterprise for Waste Management and Environmental Protection use three waste collection vehicles. The largest being the Iveco Trakker 450 6x4 26 tonne chassis fitted with a 22 cubic metre Kaoussis Norba RL300 intermittent rear loading compac- tion body and Kaoussis comb and trun- nion lift which can handle DIN 30700 and DIN 30740 wheeled containers from 80 – 1280 litres in capacity. Three-to-four hours The waste collection service on Christmas Day takes anything from three to four hours to complete. This is achieved by the hard work of the driver and the loaders deployed on each collection truck. Once the larger Iveco Trakker vehicle has finished its waste collection round in Argostoli, it heads back to the cen- tral depot where all of the waste collec- tion vehicles which service Argostoli and places such as Sami and Agia Effimia are parked, so the smaller satellite waste col- lection vehicle collecting waste from the narrow streets in Argostoli can discharge its load into it for transport to the islands' sanitary landfill site. In conclusion, the island of Kefalonia provides an effective and efficient waste collection and treatment system for the island 365 days a year. The levels of ser- vice far exceed those in the UK, taking into account the long running debate with Communities Secretary Eric Pickles weekly waste collection fund and the debate about weekly, fortnightly, three weekly and monthly waste collections across England, Wales and Scotland! In Argostoli the drivers and loaders choose to work to help keep the environment of the city in a pristine condition. Imagine if refuse crews across England, Wales and Scotland were asked to work on these fes- tive days of the year? 12 Local Authority Waste & Recycling February 2015 A Kefalonia is a popular tourist destination

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