Controversial bill on landfill sites approved
Effectively clearing the way for a solution to the greater Athens region’s festering waste disposal problem, Parliament yesterday approved a bill designating half a dozen new landfills and relay stations for rubbish trucks. The new law caused furious reactions among people living in areas named as waste disposal sites when it was tabled as a bill last Friday. But yesterday Environment Minister Vasso Papandreou ruled out any negotiations with protesting locals. «We cannot go on with this so-called dialogue,» she said. «The current situation is reminiscent of the Third World.» The capital’s only rubbish dump, at Ano Liosia, has reached saturation point. The new landfill sites are at: Mavro Vouno in Grammatiko; Trypes in Polydendri; Vragoni in Keratea-Lavreotiki; Latomeio Kyriakou in Kropia, near Koropi; Skalistiri in Fyli-Ano Liosia and Meletani in Mandra.
