Council meeting reversal: Proposal to transport the waste passed unanimously
CORFU. Temporary relief for residents of south Corfu with agreement not to use Lefkimmi landfill.
For over five hours the Town Council discussed the impasse the Municipality finds itself in, with the Temploni landfill completely saturated and the refusal of south Corfu residents to accept the use of Lefkimmi.
The Mayor reiterated his own standpoint that the Lefkimmi landfill should not operate without public consent. He was questioned persistently by all the political parties about all the alternative solutions and the Temploni and Lefkimmi Societies presented their views as did other councillors. Professional viewpoints were also presented by the President of the Technical Chamber (TEE), Nikos Triantos, Alekos Litsardopoulos on behalf of the Single Tourism Business Association and Christos Meligos on behalf of the Municipal Technical Advisory Committee.
The opposition parties
On behalf of the major opposition party, Meropi Ydraiou proposed that a state of emergency be declared and that the waste be transported elsewhere during the intermediate period of 1-2 years until the Integrated Waste Management facility is completed.
Yiannis Trepeklis’ party also came out in favour of waste transportation during the intermediate period. Babis Haralambos’ party was in favour of a new national plan for waste management. He declared that we had reached this impasse because we had voted for a plan that couldn’t be implemented.
Yiannis Kritikos, a councillor with the majority party and local SYRIZA coordinator, reiterated and analysed his party’s proposal of transportation during the intermediate period and integrated management based in Temploni – which provoked a reaction from those Temploni residents who were present.
Reservations
Deputy Mayor for the Mesi region and member of the majority party, Giorgos Karidis, expressed his serious reservations about the proposal, stating his fear that precious time would be lost and the results were uncertain, especially with Easter coming up. The TEE President expressed similar reservations, adding that it would be sensible to have an alternative proposal.
Public apology from Spyros Aspiotis
Although the discussion was conducted in a relatively civilized manner, the remarks of the Deputy Mayor for Cleansing Services provoked hostile reactions from the residents of Temploni. Spyros Aspiotis accepted that there had been delays and apologized publicly. He stressed that he had faced many difficulties and had tried to mitigate for past ‘sins’, promising that there would be a complete restoration of the Temploni landfill.
A bomb with a short fuse
Concluding the meeting, the Mayor reminded everyone that when his party had come to power the local authority had been a “bomb with a very short fuse”. He went on to say that what we could do now was to seek funding for the transportation of the waste during the intermediate period. “So we conclude from this meeting,” Kostas Nikolouzos said, “that Temploni is finished and that Lefkimmi doesn’t open.” It was proposed that a representative body be set up with politicians, scientific bodies and members of the residents’ organizations to proceed afresh.
Research will be done to identify the nearest point to which the waste can be transported and the approval of the Ministry for the Environment will be sought vigorously. An essential condition in all this is that the project for the establishment of an Integrated Waste Management facility begin as quickly as possible along with the reconstruction of the Temploni facility. The residents’ organizations weren’t satisfied with the proposal and demanded a clear commitment. They continued their protests and there were arguments back and forth, including a heated argument between the former Mayor, Yiannis Trepeklis and the President of the Temploni Society, Magda Papanikolopoulou.
Finally, the proposal was passed unanimously.
See more photos here.
