183 tons of clothing from municipal purple bins recycled in two years
CORFU. Meropi Ydraiou: "We hope that, with the use of these facilities, in the coming years, waste collection will operate efficiently and that municipal networks for separate collection as well as new waste streams will develop."
(Central Corfu Municipality) The results of the development of a separate municipal collection and recycling network for clothing in the Central Corfu Municipality have been impressive - over the past year more than 125 tons of materials have been recycled.
The Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands, as part of its efforts towards effective waste management within its administrative boundaries, in alignment with national/European legislation, and for the substantial service of all its citizens, created a municipal network for the collection of used clothing, footwear, and other fabric materials (clothes, bags, fabric toys, shoes, etc.) over the past two years.
In 2022, the municipality, in collaboration with the licensed company EAST – WEST, initially placed 26 special bins, from which a total of 57.7 tons of clothing were collected.
Due to the significant participation and response from the public, in the year 2023, an additional 36 bins were placed, increasing their total number to 62 special bins within the administrative boundaries of the municipality, through which double the quantities of used clothing were collected - 125.8 tons up to the present day.
In just 2 years of implementing the municipal network for the separate collection of used clothing, footwear, and other fabric materials (clothes, bags, fabric toys, shoes, etc.), a cumulative total of 183.5 tons of used clothing have been generated just by the public. These materials were not taken to landfills, thus saving the corresponding financial costs for our municipality.
The specific statistical data demonstrate that by placing bins in a dense network (at least 1 bin per 1000 residents), the public has easier access to collection points, leading to increased quantities for recycling. This approach aligns with the principles of environmental economics, stating that citizens should not require wasteful expenditures of time, money, and energy to recycle.
This initiative is part of the participation of the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands in the "100 Intelligent Cities Challenge" programme of the European Commission, where the municipality's main thematic axis is "Waste Management and Circular Economy."
Mayor Meropi Ydraiou stated, "The results from the development of this network are particularly significant. During our term, we established a series of separate collection and recycling networks for materials, created the infrastructure for sorting at source, and procured the necessary bins for this purpose.
"We hope that, with the use of these facilities, in the coming years, waste collection will operate efficiently and that municipal networks for separate collection as well as new waste streams will develop."
