Red clouds in the sky and you laugh...
CORFU. Yet another devastating fire in Temploni exposes FODSA (Solid Waste Management Organisation)
The poisonous new fire in the chronically accumulated waste at Temploni dismantled the narrative of proper site management. The corrupt operation of the facility has never been judicially resolved, and its restoration is progressing at snail's pace. Tens of thousands of tons of waste, both loose and baled - which promises claimed would be transferred to sanitary landfills, still remain there. Part of that caught fire early yesterday evening—whatever burns won’t need to be transported.
Meanwhile, yesterday coincided with the posting of videos on social media by well-known and desperate members of the association, showing footage from just a month ago, where the landscape appears untouched, as if time has had no effect. One wonders how many announcements have been published about finally funding the transfer of the waste bales?
The regional governor, head of FODSA (Solid Waste Management Organisation), recently inspected the fencing project for a containment cell where the thousands of tons of loose rubbish are to be gathered—waste that shouldn’t be there in the first place, given that the facility has been out of operation for nearly a decade.
As for recycling and FODSA’s assumption of responsibility for the facility’s operation, only a few days ago the relevant tenders were issued. Of course, the collection of recyclable materials remains stuck at the lowest national percentages.
Speaking with Magda Papanikolopoulou about the footage capturing this inertia, she reminded us of the toxic leachates seeping through the mounds of waste, poisoning the waters. While Demokritos (a public scientific research centre) measured them within standard limits, certified private labs have reported otherwise.
As for the legal reckoning of long-standing responsibilities—among them individuals who, coincidentally, still lead the local administration today—Magda believes that the waste facility is being used as a modern-day 'Baptismal Font of Siloam' to wash away all sins!
GIORGOS KATASAITIS
