LAWR

" The mixed recyclables are separated by eddy current separators before being baled for transportation to reprocessors " OVERSEAS SPECIAL Waste empire stands firm The future of Greece's economy remains uncertain, but its waste management system is proving resilient, says Timothy Byrne. hessaloniki is in Macedonia in northern Greece. It is the second largest city in the country, on the coast and with a busy commercial port. The temperature in the summer reaches 40 degrees and attracts many overseas tourists who stay at seaside towns along the coast, as well as day-trippers from Halkidiki, the nearby resort. With its cosmopolitan nature, it also attracts business people who hold meetings in its many venues. The Helexpo Centre holds exhibitions and conferences all year round, and that of course adds to waste production in the city. The responsibility for waste management in the prefecture of Thessaloniki is the responsibility of Fodsa, a public company managing waste for the 'Association of Local Authorities of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki'. It manages the treatment of waste from the two million inhabitants living in the area. System summary Fodsa widely encourages residents to recycle waste and reduce the volumes of municipal waste currently sent for landfill. They have provided blue coloured 1,100l containers for mixed recyclables, including paper, cardboard, ferrous and non-ferrous steel cans as well as plastics (PET, HDPE Tetrapak and LDPE). The bins are situated in communal collection points, next to 660l and 1,100l green containers for non-recyclable waste. The City of Thessaloniki collects the mixed recyclables on behalf of 20 Local Authority Waste & Recycling May 2015 T Fodsa using a fleet of Hfaistos Stefanou 16 cubic metre rear-loading waste collection vehicles mounted onto Mercedes Axor and DAF LF 15 and 18 tonne two-axle chassis. They are fitted with a bin lift with comb and trunnion arms compliant to DIN 30700 and DIN 30740 standards for emptying the blue 1,100l containers. with a crane fitted behind the cab to empty the igloos on a regular basis – this stops any cross contamination with other recyclable materials from the abrasiveness of the glass which could affect the output quality for reprocessors. Once the dry recyclables have been collected from the blue igloos and containers, the recyclable materials are delivered to a materials recycling facility within the prefecture at Sindos. The mixed recyclables are separated by eddy current separators before being baled for transportation to reprocessors. Meanwhile, the glass bottles and jars are delivered to a glass processor where the glass is separated by colour for melting and producing new bottles and jars. The rejected material from the Sindos facility is baled and taken to the sanitary landfill site for disposal once all of the recyclable materials have been extracted. There are also collection points at shopping centres, public buildings and offices for batteries, in line with with the Amended Batteries Directive (2013/56/EU). The collection of waste electronic and electrical equipment, such as worn out fridges, freezers and TVs, is also provided, which helps Greece comply with the Recast of the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU). Infrastructure improvements A network of waste transfer stations for the efficient discharge of non- recyclable waste by municipalities across the prefecture has also been established. These provide an efficient waste collection system for residents One of Fodsa's ejector trailers discharging its load collected from one of the waste transfer stations at the Mavrorahi sanitary landfill site in the Thessaloniki prefecture. The collection service uses a driver and two operatives. The blue containers are positioned at the rear of the collection vehicles by the operatives so they can be emptied by the vehicles' lifting equipment. Once the containers have been emptied, the crew return them to the communal collection point before moving on to the next one. Fodsa also provides blue coloured igloos for the deposit of mixed coloured glass bottles and jars. You can see these outside hotels, apartments, multi-occupant dwellings, restaurants and nightclubs, where large volumes of glass bottles are produced. The City of Thessaloniki provides a tipper truck

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