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Almost a fifth of all waste generated in this country is plastic, yet only 1% of it is recycled. Greece is at least 15 years behind the rest of the EU in almost all recycling areas and is unlikely to meet the EU’s targets for next year.
In Athens, rubbish bins, so common in most European cities, are rare. Although the authorities have recently launched new programs, the impact so far appears to be minimal.
Recycling just isn’t high on the average Athenian’s list of priorities.
Most household waste bags contain large amounts of glass, metal, paper and plastic that end up in the city’s only landfill, which – no wonder – is now almost full.
As a result, the capital is currently facing an acute waste management crisis as no alternative locations have been established.
Ironically, the city has what it claims to be Europe’s largest recycling facility, built next to the landfill four years ago. But the power plant – estimated to be at least € 75 million (£ 50 million) – was idle.
Reason? He was badly damaged by a mountain of garbage that collapsed on him.
In Italy, waste disposal laws vary from county to county. In Rome, the rules are among the strictest in Italy. People who do not separate their garbage can be fined up to 619 euros if they have a garbage can within 500 meters of the front door.
Romans often say that a basket is hard to find, and even harder to find one that is not full. The city council has ordered 2,500 new containers. They are colored green for household waste, white for paper, and blue for plastic.
There are hardly any rubbish bins in the streets of Rome’s historic center yet. The streets are cleaned very effectively by vehicles that drive over the rubbish and suck it up like huge self-propelled vacuum cleaners.
In southern Italy, local politicians say the waste management industry is controlled by organized crime. In 2014, the European Commission announced that it was taking action against Italy for 28 breaches of EU environmental law. Italy has been found to deny its citizens the same quality of life as residents of other EU countries.
In Senegal, by contrast, recycling is not done on an industrial scale, but is part of the daily life of many resourceful Senegalese people.
Everything is recycled, from plastic bags to school notebooks, food cans, mineral water bottles and even fruit peels. The peel is said to be harvested for use in cheap perfumes.
Tomato cans become drinking cups in the countryside or are used by beggars on the streets, old newspapers and administrative documents are used to pack bread, fruit or peanuts bought on the street.
Some craftsmen also use scrap metal to make everything from chairs to kitchen utensils and children’s toys.
Plastic bags are used to make shoes. In the old days, sandals were made from used tires, but now they are much less popular.
Recently, some smart people have started collecting all the metal scrap they can find to ship it back to their factories in Europe.
Swiss waste disposal company Alcyon has signed a contract worth more than $ 9 million with the government to collect and dispose of rubbish in the capital city of Dakar. The project is managed by AMA-Senegal, which will remove a huge heap called Mbeubeuss and recycle most of the city’s waste.
Recycling is really important, our planet is already “sick” and if we don’t recycle, the problems of human civilization will only get worse.
Recycling is important both for the environment and for us people.
There is really no time for us as a global community, as individuals and corporations we are responsible for recycling any waste they produce.
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Source by Gaz Hutchings