No cash for piling trash

Just 14 months after the first waste management unit opened in the Peloponnese, local authorities owe more than €3.9 million to the site's private operator, who is threatening legal action to collect interest.

The worst offenders are the municipalities of Nafplio (€1.4 million) and Argos (€1.1 million), with Corinth (€323,000 in arrears) in third place.

The mayors of the cities in question say they have trouble collecting local taxes, adding they are not about to impose steep tax rises to make up for the delinquent citizens. But they face cutoffs in state aid if they do not pay their trash bills.

Two more waste management sites are to open in the Peloponnese shortly - one in May, the other during the summer.