First Results of a Pilot Project for Packaging Waste Recycling in Maroussi and Vrilissia, Greece

• Published in: Waste management & research Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 495 - 506
• Main Authors: Lekkas, T.D., Razis, Y., Filis, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.1997
• Subjects: multi-material collection; Greece; recycling; recovery; Municipal solid waste management
• ISSN: 0734-242X; 1096-3669
• DOI: 10.1177/0734242X9701500505

In this paper the results of an experimental recycling programme for packaging waste are reported along with general data on recycling in Greece. The recovery project was carried out in northern Athens by the Hellenic Recovery and Recycling Association (HERRA) and two municipalities (Maroussi and Vrilissia), with the scientific support of the University of Aegean. It was the first multi-material, "close- to-home" bin programme in Greece and served 68 000 people. Almost 50 tonnes per week of recyclables were collected and processed in a material recovery facility (MRF) where they are sorted and baled into nine different products (four kinds of plastic, three kinds of paper, aluminium, steel) and glass. Up to May 1995, the calculated diversion rate was 7% and the recovery rate was 30%. © 1997 ISWA