Waste management in Greece’s West Macedonia region has taken a step forward with the launch of an integrated mixed solid waste management system in June 2017. The system, which processes all of the region’s municipal solid waste, includes a mechanical biological treatment plant and 10 waste transfer stations. It keeps some 60 000 tonnes of mixed solid waste a year out of landfill.
Better waste management in West Macedonia
- 12 February 2019
The project is the first waste management public-private partnership implemented in Greece, and even today it remains the only fully constructed and operational integrated solid waste management system in the country. The replication potential in Greece is great since the national plan for waste management sets very high targets for waste treatment and minimisation of landfill with untreated waste.
Of the waste delivered to the plant, more than 35 % of recyclable material is recovered and over 80 % of organic material is used to make compost. Less than 36 % of the waste ends up in the treatment plant’s sanitary landfill.
Compost from the plant is intended for the landscaping of old quarries but the process can be adapted to produce solid recovered fuel, which is often used in heavy industry.
An integrated approach
In the past, most of Greece’s waste was deposited in landfill. The opportunity to reuse large amounts of material was thus missed, with negative environmental consequences.
To maximise resource efficiency, West Macedonia saw the need for an integrated waste management approach covering collection, transfer, storage, sorting, treatment, recovery and disposal. The region now views waste as a business opportunity, prioritising extraction of valuable resources and safe and clean processing and disposal, while also taking account of other public health, conservation, economic, aesthetic and engineering considerations.
Waste arriving at the plant is unloaded in the reception bunker and forwarded to the mechanical separation unit by automated crane and moving floor. It goes through a bag opener before the recyclable and organic materials and the residue are separated. A conveyor belt takes recyclables through screens, and optical, eddy-current and magnetic separators, sorting paper, five different kinds of plastic, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and glass. All materials undergo quality control before being baled for further transport.
Organic waste is aerated for two weeks in an environment in which temperature, humidity and ventilation are fully controlled. The material is then stored in a maturation shed for four to six weeks and turned when necessary, depending on the temperature, oxygen and humidity in each windrow. It subsequently goes to the refinery unit, where organic material is separated from residue such as hard plastic, film, gravel, inerts (waste like sand or concrete that is neither chemically nor biologically reactive and will not decompose) and glass to produce fully refined compost.
Residue is disposed of in the fully sealed landfill site, which includes infrastructure for collection of leachate (contaminated and potentially harmful water) and biogas. Exhaust air from waste treatment areas is collected and treated in de-dusting and deodorisation systems to reduce emissions, while treatment of waste water and leachate recovers water for the plant’s industrial and irrigation needs.
Education and jobs
Representatives of companies from Greece and elsewhere in Europe visit the plant to learn about the project, enhancing its transferability. Visits are also organised for school pupils and university students. Activities including an educational programme promote recycling and waste reduction in households, and composters will be distributed to encourage home composting.
The plant has created more than 130 permanent jobs in an area of high unemployment. Further economic opportunities come through related activities such as transport and commercialisation of recycled products.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “EPADYM Integrated Solid Waste Management System” is EUR 48 000 000, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 12 700 000 through the “JESSICA” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.