Ano Liosia v Athénách - jedna z největších evropských skládek

Ano Liossia Landfill Trip By Thomas Mikel November 26 marked our field trip to the Ano Liossia sanitary landfill whose facilities are fully equipped to service the waste disposals in the Attiki area in a more environmentally friendly and viable way. After a 45-minute bus ride, we arrived at the landfill where access to the public is prohibited; there is a fairly strict security regime present and we were escorted into the area by the landfill’s security services. The landfill’s facilities are scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2003. The facility was built alongside the old landfill, in which municipal wastes were not separated, recycled and were simply buried in big landfills and covered by earth. This caused environmental hazards, since there was danger of groundwater and air pollution. The new landfill deals with many of these environmental hazards. It is equipped with a recycling facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, in which 70% of the municipal waste can be separated from the rest and be reused or recycled. In addition, the organic waste is separated and sent for composting in a plant beside the recycling plant. We were also shown the incineration plant where medical wastes are burned to ash at very high temperatures, without harming the environment. The air and groundwater contamination hazards have also been dealt with. The remaining 30% of the waste that has not been recycled, composted or incinerated is buried at the bottom of the landfill, and covered by clay. In addition, the facility is also equipped with a methane storage station where methane gas is extracted from the compacted waste and is used to produce electricity. The landfill project was mostly financed by the European Union. The facility’s modernity represents a step forward in making Athens a cleaner and a more environmentally friendly city. Lastly, I would like to thank Dr. Valaoras for organizing this very enlightening excursion and also the very hospitable employees of the landfill. I think we all realized how important environmental conservation is and how important proper waste disposal is for the preservation of the ecosystem. Zdroj:www.laverne.edu.gr