ZERO WASTE PROJECT (1G-MED08-533)

ZERO WASTE PROJECT (1G-MED08-533) MINUTES OF NATIONAL WORKSHOP JANUARY 13 TH 2011 ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESALONIKI- THESSALONIKI- GREECE List of Participants among Project Partners ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI Avraam Karagiannidis Christos Karkanias Afento Koukounaris EFXINI POLI: Sofia Skarveli ECOLOGICAL RECYCLING SOCIETY Philippos Kirkitsos

The National Workshop was held in the frame of Zero Waste project in the School of Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Conference room A. Tsioumis) on Thursday 13 th January 2011. The workshop organized by the Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering and focused on the implementation of measures for rational waste management in municipalities, while its subject was Minimization of Municipal Solid Waste: Challenges, Constraints and Perspectives. The forum attended about 80 participants coming from local authorities, the community sector, educational institutions, as well as technical and consultancy companies working in the waste management field. All the participants in the meeting received informational material about Zero Waste project. The Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Mr. Avraam Karagiannidis initiated the national workshop. He briefly explained the current situation concerning waste management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Greece indicating the upcoming significant waste disposal costs that the Hellenic municipalities will face in the very near future in the middle of an economic crisis. The representative of Efxini Poli, Mrs Sofia Skarveli, presented the aspects and targets of the Zero Waste project to the participants in terms of the Mediterranean cooperation regarding the adoption of rational MSW management by the Mediterranean countries. The chairman of the third Hellenic project partner, the Ecological Recycling Society, Mr Philippos Kirikitsos provided an analytical view of the implementation of the Pay As you Throw (PAYT) systems in Greece.

Between the first two sections of the meeting a round table took place where a few questions were made from the audience. The first question was addressed to Mrs Sofia Skarveli and was related to the Zero Waste programme continuity. Mrs Skarveli answered that the programme will keep being funded by the European Union only in the case that the current excellent cooperation between the project partners remains stable. Mr Karagiannidis took the floor to indicate that the main target of the Zero Waste project is the formulation of optimum proposals and solutions regarding waste management taking into account the local characteristics of each selected municipality. The project partners will remain available for helping any local authority even after the finish of the programme. Furthermore, Mr Kirkitsos mentioned that the rational methods for waste management proposed by the project partners have already adopted by many European countries.

The next section of presentations was dedicated to Hellenic municipalities that have already adopted measures for rational MSW management with significant results, thus they are considered as good practices and examples for other local authorities. At first, the Mayor of the municipality of Neaopoli- Sikes, Mr Simos Daniilidis, presented the actions taken and the methods implemented by the local authority in order to reduce the amount of waste to final disposal. In the same direction, the municipal councilor of the municipality of Thermi, Mr Sokrates Famellos, analyzed the sustainable MSW management schemes implemented in order to achieve reduction of the waste management cost by minimizing the total amount of waste and improving the waste collection system. The Environmental Consultant and researcher in the Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Mr Christos Karkanias presented a template of developing a master plan to achieve a low-cost zero-waste municipality in the new era of Kallikratis local and regional framework by implementing rational waste management schemes. The third section of the national workshop included the presentations of the representatives of three national alternative waste management systems. The Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Recovery Recycling Corporation (He.R.R.Co), Mr Ioannis Razis, the Managing Director of the Appliances Recycling company, Mr Alexandros Aloukos, as well as the Chief Executive Officer of the alternative End Of Life Tires management system (Ecoelastica), Mr Georgios Mavrias presented the operating procedures of the related alternative waste management systems respectively. Finally, the chairman of

the Association of Local Authorities of Greater Thessaloniki, Mr Ioannis Zournas briefly presented the existed waste management infrastructure in the greater Thessaloniki area.

After the above presentations the floor was opened for comments and questions from the side of the participants. A number of questions were addressed to the speakers with main reference point the ways of the community s (local authorities, citizens, local organizations) activation and participation in the waste management policies and strategies at regional level. These strategies include the implementation of rational waste management schemes in order to achieve, at the same time, economic and environmental sustainability. Opening the discussion, Mr Avraam Karagiannidis indicated the necessity for Hellenic municipalities to develop integrated master plans with major target to minimize the waste for final disposal while reduce the relatively high waste management cost. As mentioned during the presentations, waste management cost is expected to be raised due to the continuously increased gate fees for waste landfilling that will affect as well the municipal fees citizens are going to pay in the near future. The above increased waste management cost is also affected by the current economic crisis which led to the cut of the State s subsidies to the municipalities. Moreover, Mr Avraam Karagiannidis mentioned, as a related example, the municipality of Larnaka in Cyprus. The municipality paid for waste management treatment in the first month of 2010 the same amount of money that paid for the whole 2009. The reason of this increase in the cost was based on the new MBT plant where the municipality had to transfer its organic waste. As a result, the citizens have to pay doubled municipal fees.

The first question was addressed to Mr Mavrias and was about the treatment of big EOL Tires coming from agricultural machinery. Mr Mavrias answered that this problem exists from 2004 in Greece and that Ecoelastica in cooperation with the Hellenic State are trying to find the best available solution. The second question was addressed to Mr Zournas about the remaining life span of Mavrorachi landfill where wastes from certain areas in Central Macedonia are disposed. Mr Zournas answered that under the current conditions the remaining life span of the landfill is 7-8 years. The second two-part question was about the lack of blue bins in a number of municipalities in Greece as well as the absence of cooperation between citizens and shops regarding the transfer of used appliances. Mr Razis answered the first part of the question saying that He.R.R.Co is currently facing economic problems thus it cannot provide more blue bins to municipalities that need them. Furthermore, Mr Aloukos answering the second part of the question said that the Appliances Recycling company will cover the appliances transfer cost from house to shops that are obliged to accept them. He also referred to the good example of the municipality of Tzia that is among the first 10 municipalities in Greece in the related collection ranking list (16 kg/citizen). The agenda of the meeting also included a business lunch that followed the presentations and the round table.

ANNEX A AGENDA OF THE NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI 13 JANUARY 2011 ΩΡΑ Προσέλευση Εγγραφή Παραλαβή υλικού 09:30 09:50 Έναρξη Αβραάμ Καραγιαννίδης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής ΑΠΘ, 09:50 10:10 Τμήμα Μηχανολόγων Μηχανικών, Εργαστήριο Μετάδοσης Θερμότητας και Περιβαλλοντικής Μηχανικής Σοφία Σκαρβέλη, Εύξεινη Πόλη: 10:10 10:30 Μεσογειακή συνεργασία στον τομέα της διαχείρισης δημοτικών απορριμμάτων: Το έργο Zero Waste Φίλιππος Κυρκίτσος, Πρόεδρος Οικολογικής Εταιρίας 10:30 10:50 Ανακύκλωσης: Ορθολογική διαχείριση απορριμμάτων - Εφαρμογή συστημάτων Πληρώνω Όσο Πετάω στη Ελλάδα Σίμος Δανιηλίδης, Δήμαρχος Νεάπολης-Συκεών: 10:50 11:10 Στρατηγικές ελαχιστοποίησης απορριμμάτων στο δήμο Νεάπολης -Συκεών Σωκράτης Φάμελος, Εντεταλμένος Δημοτικός Σύμβουλος 11:10 11:30 Εισηγήσεις Θέρμης: Δράσεις μείωσης απορριμμάτων που διατίθενται σε ταφή. Μελέτη περίπτωσης: Δήμος Θέρμης Χρήστος Καρκανιάς, Εργαστήριο Μετάδοσης Θερμότητας και 11:30 11:50 Περιβαλλοντικής Μηχανικής, Τμήμα Μηχανολόγων Μηχανικών, ΑΠΘ: Επιχειρησιακά σχέδια ελαχιστοποίησης στερεών αποβλήτων για Ελληνικούς Καλλικρατικούς δήμους προς αντιμετώπιση των επερχόμενων αυξήσεων στα κόστη ορθολογικής διαχείρισης Ιωάννης Ραζής, Γενικός Διευθυντής Ελληνικής Εταιρίας 11:50 12:10 Αξιοποίησης - Ανακύκλωσης Α.Ε.: Αξιοποίηση αποβλήτων συσκευασιών: Οι δραστηριότητες του Συλλογικού Συστήματος Εναλλακτικής Διαχείρισης ΑΝΑΚΥΚΛΩΣΗ Αλέξανδρος Αλούκος, Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος Ανακύκλωσης 12:10 12:30 Συσκευών Α.Ε.: Ανακύκλωση συσκευών στην Ελλάδα Γεώργιος Μαυριάς, Γενικός Διευθυντής Ecoelastica Α.Ε.: Ορθολογική διαχείριση μεταχειρισμένων ελαστικών 12:30 12:50 Ιωάννης Ζουρνάς, Πρόεδρος Συνδέσμου Οργανισμών 12:50 13:10 Τοπικής Αυτοδιοίκησης Νομού Θεσσαλονίκης: Παρουσίαση των έργων διαχείρισης απορριμμάτων του Συνδέσμου ΟΤΑ στο Νομό Θεσσαλονίκης Στρογγυλό Τοποθετήσεις, Ερωτήσεις, Συζήτηση 13:10 13:55 Τραπέζι Κλείσιμο 13:55 14:00 Γεύμα Ελαφρύ γεύμα 14:00 14:30

ANNEX B NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI - AUT (I) PRESENTATION

ANNEX C NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI - EFXINI POLI PRESENTATION

ANNEX D NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI - ERS PRESENTATION

ANNEX E NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI MUNICIPALITY OF NEAPOLI-SIKES PRESENTATION

ANNEX F NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI MUNICIPALITY OF THERMI PRESENTATION

ANNEX G NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI AUT (II) PRESENTATION

ANNEX H NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI He.R.R.Co PRESENTATION

ANNEX I NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI APPLIANCES RECYCLING PRESENTATION

ANNEX J NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI ECOELASTICA PRESENTATION

ANNEX K NATIONAL WORKSHOP IN THESSALONIKI ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF GREATER THESSALONIKI PRESENTATION