Appliances, tires to be recycled
After old cars, used batteries and mineral oil, it is the turn of defunct household electrical appliances, worn-out tires and rubble from construction sites to be designated as forms of environmentally hazardous waste that must be recycled with the help of manufacturers, sales outlets and building companies under new legislation. According to three new presidential decrees signed yesterday by Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou, manufacturers and importers of electrical and electronic appliances will not only have to pay for recycling jettisoned products but must also set up collection points. Until now, unwanted appliances were left out with ordinary household waste to be disposed of in municipal landfills – or were just abandoned in the thousands of illegal rubbish dumps that disfigure rural Greece. The same will apply to vehicle tires, while building contractors will be obliged to save and recycle building materials from demolition work. Similar decrees were issued last month on cars, batteries and mineral oil.
