Environment Minister says to Corfu representatives – No riot police and no rubbish on the streets. Open up Lefkimmi as soon as possible
ATHENS. The magic solution that some were hoping for disappeared in a matter of 2½ hours on the 7th floor of the Ministry of the Interior building.
The Deputy Minister for the Environment Socrates Famelos, who had taken responsibility for the matter, listened to the request from Corfu for waste to be removed from the island for the interim period and was unequivocal in his response.
License the operation of the Lefkimmi facility as soon as possible! No other approach to the problem is acceptable.
This may sound illogical to us and the cost of construction there along with the fines could come to as much as 20 million Euros. The mayor was asked once again - following the Prime Minister’s exhortation at the Regional Conference in Corfu - to draw up a road map for the solution to the problem at Temploni with the transfer of the waste bales from there to Lefkimmi.
It is estimated that the time required for the licensing and commencement of operations at the Mesorahia facility would be three months, while it has been estimated that the time required for the establishment of an Integrated Waste Management system would be at least 2½ - 3 years.
At this point the representatives from Lefkimmi objected and protested that this solution would lead to clashes and police violence. Mr. Famelos responded categorically, “This is not the world I live in. No rubbish on the streets and no riot police. Can we finally have a public facility to protect the environment and restore order on the island!”
