Athens landfill opens, new dumps promised
Athens rubbish collectors were late yesterday to start removing the heaps of rubbish that had piled up on the streets over the past five days when the capital’s only dump was closed due to a landslide. Municipal employees decided to return to work at the Nea Liosia landfill after geologists and other experts assured them that it would be safe to do so. Meanwhile, Environment Minister Vasso Papandreou yesterday vowed to do everything necessary in order to create new landfills in other parts of Attica that will help take the burden off Nea Liosia, where the existing landfill can only take two more months of rubbish. A new dump next to the old one will come into operation before Easter, but is expected to fill up in two years’ time. Papandreou said she would «immediately» pass a law on the new Attica landfills to circumvent objections from local authorities.
