LIFE

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |
LIFE and the circular economy
Photo: LIFE10 ENV/GR/000610
ISWM-TINOS designed a waste management scheme for the Greek island of Tinos
Another project that sought to raise awareness
and encourage separation of domestic waste took
place in the Greek municipality of Tinos, on a small
island in the Cyclades. ISWM-TINOS (LIFE10 ENV/
GR/000610) designed and implemented a scheme
for integrated solid waste management (ISWM)
based on “evaluating local needs and conditions,
and then selecting and combining the most appropriate
waste management activities,” says project
manager Tasos Vidalis. “Our ISWM system included
a flexible separate collection scheme for each type
of recyclable – glass, metal, paper and plastic – as
well as biowaste.”
The dry recyclables went to a sorting centre, while
the biowaste was anaerobically treated on the island
to recover energy. The positive social acceptance
of the scheme led to its expansion into four
additional communities adjacent to the targeted
area. Household recovery rates increased in the
project area to 98% for glass, 79% for plastic and
metal and 74% for paper/cardboard. “The application
of the ISWM-TINOS system is best suited to
municipalities located in distant or insular areas
where transportation costs are high and space for
service facilities is limited,” concludes Mr Vidalis.
The system could be widely applicable, however,
given that 35% of Europe consists of remote regions.
An ongoing project in Greece is tackling source
separation and treatment in remote areas by
demonstrating a pilot technology for processing
of different dry recyclables and organic waste,
to recover end products of high quality and purity.
The PAVEtheWAySTE project (LIFE14 ENV/
GR/000722) is taking place in Olympia in the Peloponnese,
the area with the most illegal landfill sites
in Greece. Companies in the recycling industry will
be engaged in a dialogue to ensure that the end
products satisfy their market specifications.
Trialling PAYT
Economic incentives to increase recycling rates
were trialled in the WASTE-LESS in CHIANTI project
(LIFE09 ENV/IT/000068), which implemented a
pilot strategy for waste prevention and sustainable
waste management in the province of Florence
(Italy). It encouraged waste prevention through
the introduction of collection schemes, accounting
systems for waste from individual households and
’pay as you throw’ (PAYT) incentives. The project
also created reuse centres to increase the recovery
of material resources.
The project’s greatest achievement was to integrate
these schemes into a unified approach that is
easy to implement and does not require intensive
investments by local communities. WASTE-LESS in
CHIANTI improved collection of separate waste and
helped the project area reduce by 28% the amount
of unsorted waste sent to final disposal, nearly
double the 15% target.
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