Future of Attica trash set to become clearer

The future of waste management in Attica could be decided next week, when the board members of the local authority that deals with this issue will be elected.

Amid much criticism, Attica Governor Rena Dourou has vowed to scrap the tenders for the construction of four waste management plants around Athens in a move that could also lead to Greece missing out on 200 million euros in European Union structural funds that had been earmarked for the projects. Dourou’s stance has brought her into direct conflict with the government, which wants the new plants to go ahead.

Dourou argues that there was not enough consultation before the projects were finalized and put to tender. Her bid to stop their construction will depend largely on who is appointed to the board of ESDNA, the local government body responsible for waste management.

As Attica governor, Dourou presides over the ESDNA board but only appoints two of the other six members. The remaining four members are elected by the Regional Union of Municipalities of Attica (PEDA). Representatives of Attica’s 66 municipalities are due to meet next Wednesday to elect PEDA’s president. He or she will then appoint an executive committee that will, among other things, appoint the four PEDA board members.

A local authority official told Kathimerini that if a mayor that is loyal to the government, such as Pendelis’s Dimitris Stergiou, is elected as PEDA’s president he is certain to appoint officials that will back the government’s policy on waste management rather than Dourou’s.