Residents and local authorities near the only landfill in Athens look set to have their wish that treated sewage no longer be dumped there granted after sources said yesterday that a government official told them the sludge would soon be deposited elsewhere.

During a meeting with residents from Ano Liosia on Monday night, Deputy Public Works Minister Themistoklis Xanthopoulos announced that authorities would stop dumping sewage at the landfill within the next two or three months.

This is in line with a pledge made by Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias in June when trucks first began transporting the sludge to Ano Liosia under police guard. Souflias said then that if the residents were not satisfied by the biodegrading process, which is meant to neutralize the bad smell from the sewage, he would bring it to a halt by the end of the year.

Despite complaints by locals about the odor, Souflias had not indicated that he would stop the process. However, Xanthopoulos said that a disused quarry had been found to accommodate the sludge. He did not specify its location.