By T. Igoumenidi
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Recovery and recycling of urban waste in Greece reaches only 16 percent of the total, among the lowest percentages in Europe, where the highest levels reach up to 70 percent.
In fact, burying trash in landfills accounts for a staggering 80 percent of urban waste management in the country.
The average rate of recycling in the EU is 28 percent; 16 percent for composting, while using incinerators to burn rubbish accounts for 27 percent, on average. The EU average for waste ending up in landfills is 28 percent.
The figures were listed in a study by Infobank Hellastat (IBHS).
Although recycling has made progress in Greece over the past few years, the country still lags behind EU leaders in the sector, coming in 22nd out of 28 countries in the survey.
The sluggish performance will have to be improved if the country is to meet an EU target of 50 percent by 2020.
In terms of packaging, IBHS said the volume of discarded packaging and related byproducts decreased by 30 percent since 2008, a development attributed directly to the economic crisis in the country.
