Mayor-elect pledges a cleaner, greener Athens

Athens mayor-elect Haris Doukas visited the municipal authority's Department of Sanitation on Monday, where he vowed a cleaner, greener city.

"Cleanliness will be a top priority" of his five-year term in office, which begins on January 1, Doukas said, adding that he was "very proud" of the department's efforts to that end.

He said his immediate plans include steps to expand recycling and "smart" trash collection, describing a cleaner city as an "emblematic goal."

"You are the municipality's image. I know how hard your job really is and we want to equip you with all the modern means," Doukas told sanitation employees.

"The green transition starts here," he added.

During and after his election campaign against New Democracy's incumbent Kostas Bakoyannis, the National Technical University of Athens professor who ran on socialist PASOK's ticket in...