'%20id='ico-down'%20stroke='%23000000'%20stroke-width='1.5'%3e%3cg%20transform='translate(1092.250000,%20254.750000)'%3e%3cpolyline%20id='Path-2-Copy-4'%20transform='translate(5.500000,%202.750000)%20scale(1,%20-1)%20rotate(-180.000000)%20translate(-5.500000,%20-2.750000)%20'%20points='0%200%205.5%205.5%2011%200'%3e%3c/polyline%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
2 February 2006
ATHENS – Greece announced Thursday it was considering measures to transport thousands of tons of partially treated human waste to Germany that it has been unable to dump in Greece.
For months, officials at the Ministry of Environment and the Athens Water Company (EVDAP) have been looking into how the 170,000 tonnes of waste which have accumulated on the islet of Psytalia, the site of Athens’ only sewage treatment plant, can be transferred.
The Athens Water Company said it had examined proposals to dispose of the sludge in Greece but had run into strong objections from local communities.
EVDAP said it was forced to consider transferring the waste to a foreign country with the appropriate facilities to treat it until Greece develops its own drying unit in 2007.
An earlier proposal to export the sludge to Sudan, a move which sparked protests by environmentalists when suggested in November, has been silently dropped.
The transfer of 60,000 tons of partially treated waste from Greece to Germany, which has the appropriate facilities to process the sludge is unlikely to cost less than 8.5 million euros, officials said after receiving offers from four firms bidding for the job.
It was unclear whether the same rate would be applied to the export of the remaining 110,000 tons of sludge to Germany, which has been favoured by the bidding firms as the destination for the muck.
The sludge on Psytalia, near Pireaus, is building up fast and experts estimate that authorities have less than 90 days to find a solution before it reaches full storage capacity limits.
DPA
Subject: German news