The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change has submitted a bill on waste management and recycling, according to which the Ministry’s opinions will be “binding”, rather than being consultative.
In practice this means that the Ministry will be in the position to circumvent any District Governor decisions regarding waste management and will be able to implement “special action plans” regarding waste management of a district.
Staff members of Attica District Governor Rena Dourou have argued that this bill constitutes a clear attempt of the Ministry to patronize district plans by intervening in waste management. They also argue that the controversial bill threatens the current plans of decentralizing waste management.
The bill also includes a number changes that aim to encourage recycling, as by 2020 EU members must recycle 50% of their waste and at present the rate in Greece is only about 18%. The coalition government is expecting a heavy fine from the European courts in December, as at present 69 illegal landfill sites continue to operate.
