Patra's growing trash woes putting public health at risk

A few days after the government put to public debate its plan to overhaul the country?s waste management, with a greater focus on recycling and a bigger onus on local government, authorities in Patra, in the Peloponnese, have warned that their trash situation risks becoming a ?terrible threat to public health.?

In an open letter, Patra Municipality said its waste problem could become ?much worse? than that of nearby Pyrgos, whose streets have been swamped with garbage for weeks. Patra?s main landfill will reach capacity in the coming weeks, according to municipal authorities, who have said they must resort to moving some of the trash to other facilities in the region. Patra Mayor Costas Peletidis said authorities have drafted a plan that aims to boost recycling and composting to reduce the volume of waste going to landfills.

This month the European Court imposed an 11.4-million-euro fine on Greece for failing to close down dozens of illegal landfills.