The modern Greek state’s continuing and abysmal failure to comprehensively deal with all forms of waste management again reared its “ugly head”, this time, ironically, in the eponymous Greek prefecture of Arcadia – an ancient placement which is associated with pastoralism and harmony with nature.
Heaps of rubbish have accumulated on the streets of Tripolis, the capital of Arcadia, in the central Peloponnese, for weeks now, as local and regional officials squabbled on why a garbage processing contract hasn’t come on line. Tripolis’ rubbish had been previously shipped to the greater Athens area’ vast dumpsite, nearly four hours away by truck and costing … 90 euros per ton in transport costs!
To add insult to injury, local officials then chose a site within a Natura-protected site, adjacent to a pine forest of Mt. Mainalos, as a temporary disposal site for the area’s garbage. This invariably sparked the “NIMBY” effect and generated vocal opposition by environmentalists.