(photo Vories Sporades blog)
Last week an illegal dumping of building waste/rubble on Skopelos was discovered and posted on Facebook. The truck that dumped the waste and the origin of the waste was known but this is where the story would end normally. The ”crime” was done and was excepted. This phenomenon has been going on for many years, on Skopelos, now.
Because social media play a big role in discovering facts like the illegal dumping of waste, this time a group of people named Skopelos Green & Clean (old name is the do good group of Skopelos) thought they could continue and try to find out why the dumping of waste next to the road, in riverbeds and gorges is a act that is considered normal on Skopelos although it is illegal. Skopelos Green & Clean group
The first thing they did was send a press release to condemn the act and this press release was send to the local media. The second thing was to organize a meeting with the mayor and the vice mayor responsible for waste management. At this meeting we did not receive clear answers to our questions. The press release below was issued after that meeting. What Skopelos Green & Clean wants to know is: why is there no municipal space on the island where waste/rubble can be disposed of. The recycling plant can take a lot of waste/rubble but there must be a place where the rest can go and eventually get recycled/up-cycled.
Press Release
The recent disposal of rubble/building materials in a forest area on Skopelos island by people without a conscience has raised a storm of protest. Members of the environmental volunteers group “Skopelos Green & Clean have had a meeting with the mayor and vice mayor who is responsible for waste management on Tuesday the 9th of April.
One of the statements from the mayor was that the municipality has no area to dispose this waste.
The conclusion after this meeting is that there are no existing rules for the management and disposal of rubble/building materials and the protection of nature in the municipality. There is chaos. We conclude that the arguments of the mayor are naive.
This is a matter that needs to be looked at by the authorities and organizations. Surely, we’ll urge them to act.
Our environmental volunteers group with an extra 90 members, in the last week, will move forward and take any necessary actions to find out which responsibility lies where and demand that laws will be upheld and worked with.
We would like to invite the aspirant mayors , Mr. S. Perissis, Mr. D. Eustatiou and Mr. G. Anagnostou to comment on this enormous issue and tell everybody what their plans are for the management of recycling, waste, rubble and heavy materials. We invite them to start a conversation in the local media about the protection of this unique place that belongs to everybody on earth.
The nature of Skopelos is the biggest source of income for this island and many have an income via tourism. We also invite the aspirant mayors to tell us their plans for tourism on Skopelos in future years to come.
Skopelos, 10 April 2019
The waste/rubble has all been removed removed waste/rubble photos and not only the recently dumped material but also other older material. A lot of the waste has been transported to the recycling plant and the rest to the waste tip. The Skopelos Green & Clean group will continue to pressure the authorities to find solutions for the problem and implement solutions/rules as soon as possible so Skopelos stays green and clean for those who live on the island and for those who visit it.
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