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Corfu Island full of rubbish dumps

rubbish dumps
17 Mar 2018 / 07:36

CORFU. The ongoing saga of waste management over the last years combined with some residents lacking any sense of personal responsibility has created the distressing image of an island full of small, makeshift rubbish dumps.

Following reports from readers (who gave their names), we were able to find small rubbish dumps all over the island – some well-hidden from passers-by but others right at the side of the road or in front of houses. The rubbish that has been buried ‘at night’ throughout the waste management crisis over the years will probably be discovered by future archaeologists – but in the meantime having incalculable consequences on the environment.

In general, the scattered rubbish dumps throughout the island can be divided into three categories.

The first category is areas of land where building rubble and large objects and appliances are dumped. In one such case the owner of the land told Enimerosi that “unknown people dump it all at night and I aim to report it.” That same night, the large objects that had been dumped there disappeared or were taken somewhere else – no one knows where or by whom. The following morning the land was completely clear and covered with fresh soil!

The second category is the rubbish dump that suddenly appears somewhere. It just needs one person to make a start and everyone else just adds to it. It doesn’t matter where it is as long as it follows the principle of NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard.


Ropa Valley 16/3/2018

The third, and most common, category is the area around the waste collection bins where residents dump not only their household rubbish but also branches and garden rubbish, furniture and mattresses – even though they know that the refuse trucks don’t collect them.

Please note: All the photographs have been taken recently – with the last two weeks – by Enimerosi reporters and concerned readers. They are just a small sample of the large archive that has been put together.

See the photos here.