An unbelievable ecological crime in Andros

The municipality of the island of Andros continues to throw its garbage in the stream of Stavropeda, causing incalculable damage to the environment, with garbage bags and drainage ending up at the Schinias beach!

Once, vines were cultivated in the surrounding areas and bathers enjoyed the clear blue sea. Today, however, the area is quarantined.

Two months after the collapse of the illegal dump, which lies within an archaeological site (!), the garbage trucks of the municipality, as shown in the video that was shot on April 4, still empty tons of waste there, defying the dangers posed by the pollution in the region.

On February 22, the city council decided to take exceptional measures, boost recycling and commission a study on positioning a sanitary landfill. However, the absence of alternative solutions is prolonging the operation of the dump.

Information indicates that the South Aegean District permitted the discharge of waste for health reasons, since for two months now (after the collapse of the dump) garbage had been piling up in the dumpsters, posing risks to public health.

Same sources say that the 2-month permit was issued under the condition that the garbage will be thrown on the side of the dump that has not collapsed, but the revealing videos show the exact opposite!

The municipality claims that identifying a location of the sanitary landfill is becoming extremely complex due to the nature of the island, where 40% of the areas is protected and the rest is tourist destinations and archaeological sites.

In fact, despite the assurances by mayor Ioannis Glynos about the creation of an integrated waste management plan, the landfill of Andros, which lies within the proclaimed archaeological site of Strofila - Stavropeda - St. George of Pantoukia and 300 meters from the Neolithic settlement of Strofilas, remains the only solution for the reception of garbage.

Moreover, neither the packaging of waste nor the effort to install a waste management system by the Soukos company have proceeded as planned by the municipality, .

Recycling has also been postponed, since according to the allegations of the “Andros New Horizons” municipal party, the blue bins are overflowing with recyclable materials.

The municipal party is also raising questions about the plan to restore the damaged area after ​​the collapse of the dump, which was designated by a committee of professors of the Polytechnic to prevent the spreading of waste.

The Andros landfill has been in operation since the ‘70s despite the efforts of residents to seal it and last year’s CoS decision declaring it illegal.