Recycling plastic in Greece

Greece generates approximately 700kT of plastic waste each year, or 68 kg of plastic per capita. The influx of tourists to Greece’s coasts increases waste generation by up to 26% in peak season. Only 8% of waste is recycled, due to low collection rates and highly mixed waste streams, and limited recycling infrastructure. The majority of waste, 84%, ends up in landfills.

That is WWF report for plastic pollution in Greece in 2019

11.5kT of plastic enters the Mediterranean, including 28% from sea-based sources, such as ghost finishing nets and equipment. Almost 70% of this waste makes its way back to pollute Greek coastlines each year. Greece’s economy loses an estimated €26M annually due to plastic pollution, as it affects the tourism, shipping and fishing economies.

Our place in Europe

The first step would be to start increasing the pressure on our governments to take action. The second step, on a more individual level, would be to start making changes in our daily lives and in our behavior towards our planet. It was high time we started educating our students.

Paying particular attention to the education of children and the shaping of an environmental consciousness, the Hellenic Recovery Recycling Corporation organizes specialized educational programs, approved by the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs.

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Educational Program Ι� «Recycling in Schools, Changing Behaviors»�

  In order to raise the awareness of pupils in primary and secondary schools, specially designed blue bins are placed inside the schools and in the same time special educational presentations are organized so that students can understand the importance of the participation in packaging recycling through the blue bin and also be informed about the multiple benefits to society and municipalities.

Educational Program ΙI�«Discover how to recycle properly in the blue bin»�

 It aims to teach children in Primary Schools the correct way to participate in packaging recycling through the blue bin network. The material of the program consists of five thematic training modules which, with the assistance of the analytical instructions provided, can be developed by the teacher in the classroom. The blue bin turns into a hero – ambassador of recycling and in a pleasant, creative and experiential manner reveals to the children the secrets and benefits of recycling.

We must stop using disposable coffee cups!!

When it comes only to coffee drinking, Greeks are serious coffee drinkers with an average of 510 cups of coffee a year, 40 percent of which is ordered outside the home. According to Greenpeace, in Greece alone, 1 million single-use coffee cups are used daily. If individuals were to replace single-use coffee cups with reusable cups, this number would be greatly reduced.

�Greece tries to launch campaigns to get rid of disposable plastic��

There are some residents using what they have to its fullest and not creating new waste that will end up in landfills.�

It all starts from this – the waste management hierarchy!�

Everything begins by refusing the item offered and reducing the items we purchase, minimizing waste directly at the source, which is not creating it in the first place. Simple examples are refusing single-use straws, plastic bags, and choosing products with minimal packaging. We can also buy in bulk whenever possible using reusable containers!

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