has been recognized as one of the most pressing problems >>>

This study underscores the importance of strengthening data foundations and adopting consistent modelling approaches to support effective climate action in the waste sector.

The next step in the process involves referring the Member State to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), where potential fines may be imposed

Urbanization, industrialization and economic growth have considerable challenged the orientation of waste management policies and practices. Major concerns appear in urban environments, as they receive increased volumes of waste, which in turn pose threats for the environment and public health. The extension of material's lifecycle through reduce, reuse and recycling could preserve resources and coincide with international strategies for sustainable waste management.

The intensive use of plastic material in every aspect of life has generated a plastic waste stream and the so-called “plastic pollution crisis.” The shrinking landfill capacity and the dispersion of plastic debris in the environment further increase this crisis [1,2]. In 2018, global plastics manufacture reached almost 360 million tons with plastics production in Europe at 62 million tons. Key industries such as tourism and aquaculture fisheries are heavily influenced by plastic pollution. Ideas including circular economy, material reuse, recycling alternatives, incentives to industry for biodegradable package design, orientation of industry, policy and consumer patterns are behaviors towards the protection of the environment and the need to describe local or national policy. This paper aims to provide information on plastic waste stream in coastal zones of Amvrakikos Gulf and Lefkada, Greece, mainly focusing on the socioeconomic context and wetland values and the connection of management scenarios with resource efficiency.

This Outlook can help decision-makers understand the direction in which we are heading and help to assess which policies can support a more circular economy. The OECD stands ready to assist governments in making this transition by designing, developing and delivering better resource efficiency policies for better lives.

Our Crowd Sourcing Campaign is supported by the global WtERT network, represented by seventeen organizations from thirteen countries.

During the 7th International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Heraklion Global WtERT Council members from Greece, France, Italy, Germany, Colombia, Chile and USA met with guests from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Singapore and Greece as well as Antonis Mavropoulos from ISWA to discuss, how to start the WtERT Crowd Sourcing Campaign "Waste Management´s Response to Climate Change”.

A report by Ecologic Institute and Climact shows that the draft National Energy and Climate Plans presented by governments at the start of 2019 are in acute need of improvement. They suffer from inadequate targets and insufficient details on the policies and financing needed to move towards net-zero emission economies in Europe. Member States also need to do better in involving their national stakeholders in providing input to the plans, to benefit from their expertise and to get them on board for future policies. Good practice examples exist around the EU to serve as inspiration for the final plans due by the end of the year.

Spent coffee grounds are the moist solid residues of coffee brewing and in most cases, the disposal is done without any intermediate valorization actions for materials and energy recovery. State-of-the-art applications include extraction of the liquids and application of high-temperature pyrolysis. Both strategies have significant potential but have also some disadvantages (extensive pre-treatment, high costs) when applied on a large scale. This study highlights the lack of mild pyrolysis valorization strategies and presents the idea of the “COFFEE BIN.”

18 Member States are at risk of missing one or both of the 2025 targets.

The main aim of this study is the integrated assessment of a proposed Waste-to-Energy facility that could contribute in the Municipal Solid Waste Management system of the Region of Central Greece.

The 2018 bi-Annual EEC/WTERT conference was held this year at The City College of New York hosted by The Earth Engineering Center at City College (EEC|CCNY). The conference brought together the best minds in academia, industry, and government representing 12 countries across five continents to discuss important current topics in waste.

Electrochemical characterization of a stack consisting of two identical membrane-less microbial fuel cells units, was investigated when operated in series and in parallel electrical configurations. Food Residue Biomass (FORBI) (FORBI; 0.8 g COD/L) was used as the electrode donor in the anode chamber. Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) was carried out for the construction of polarization curves which revealed that the highest power output (3.88 mW) was obtained under parallel connection as in series connection was found lower due to voltage drop phenomena. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy measurements (EIS) gave an insight in the electrochemical processes occurring within the stack under both electrical connections. The contribution of the individual resistances to the overall internal resistance was defined, designating the significant role of the solution resistance (Rs) and the charge transfer resistance (RCT) under closed circuit conditions.

Preface - In the course of the German-Greek Conference (DGV) and the activities of the Parliamentary State Secretary Mr. Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, we had the opportunity to engage in the topic of waste management in Greece. We were thereby able to get an idea of the prevailing practice and the current state of discussion. We conducted intensive conversations with responsible persons from Greece, who had visited us in order to inform themselves regarding the German waste management concepts and the strategies for solutions. In addition, we visited the locations ourselves in order to view the situation and to be able to discuss this with the responsible persons locally. This gained knowledge is the basis for further discussions.

WTERT Greece researchers published, made presentations and participated in several National and International meetings and conferences and organized or participated in various events in areas concerning WTE, Waste and Energy Management and Circular Economy.

The objective of this work was to determine the composition and production rate of cytostatic pharmaceutical waste produced by Theagenion Cancer Treatment Hospital (TCTH) in Thessaloniki, Greece. This information is necessary for the design and costing of management systems for cytostatic pharmaceutical waste, for assessing their environmental impact and for health and safety considerations. A total of 826 kg cytostatic pharmaceutical waste was collected, manually separated and weighed over a period of ten working weeks. Total cytostatic pharmaceutical waste was classified in three categories, vial waste comprising 38.3%, syringe waste with 4.5% and intravenous therapy (IV) waste with 57.2% of the total. Vial waste only was classified according to the active ingredients in alkylating agents, antimetabolites, cytotoxic antibiotics, Vinca alkaloids and “other” antineoplastic drugs. The overall cytostatic waste production by the hospital was 22900(6955) g/d, with numbers in parenthesis representing standard deviations. The average unit production rates of total cytostatic pharmaceutical waste were 140(64) g/patient/d and 201(61) g/bed/d. The respective unit production rates were: (1) for vial waste 41(11) g/patient/d and 77(46) g/bed/d, (2) for syringe waste 5(1.5) g/patient/d and 9(5) g/bed/d and (3) for IV waste 94(63) g/patient/d and 115(43) g/bed/d.

This study attempts the development of an algorithm in order to present a step by step selection method for the location and the size of a waste-to-energy facility targeting the maximum output energy, also considering the basic obstacle which is in many cases, the gate fee. Various parameters identified and evaluated in order to formulate the proposed decision making method in the form of an algorithm.

WTERT Greece – SYNERGIA has collaborated, participated and been represented successfully through its members and representatives who continued to support our work in Greek and European level for the 9th year since its establishment in 2008.

2017 Progress Report to Donors on R&D and Information Dissemination Activities of WtERT-Columbia, Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University. The reported acitivities include the formation of WtERT-Asia regional organization, WTE Guidebook editions for Greece and China, present research topics, etc.

The present work constitutes a full-scale analysis of the current situation regarding Waste Management in Greece, explores the options regarding financing of waste management infrastructure and finally presents six different case studies in terms of energy output and financial outcome.

This study attempts the development of an algorithm in order to present a step by step selection method for the location and the size of a waste-to-energy facility targeting the maximum output energy, also considering the basic obstacle which is in many cases, the gate fee.

This Study to assess the implementation by EU Member States of certain provisions of Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, carried out for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment), investigates the situation in the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU) as regards the landfilling of untreated non-hazardous municipal solid waste.

Waste management has been recognized as one of the most pressing problems in Greece suffering of a low level of organization and relying predominantly on semi-controlled landfills until the end of the previous century [9]. Nevertheless improvements have been made during the last twenty years making the solid waste management in Greece a well-structured, organized and environmentally responsible activity with specific goals, mostly in the urban areas. However, there is a big need of changing the waste Management model. The development of efficient use of resources is the mean of realizing this vision. The transformation of the economy towards a resource-efficient direction will lead to increased competitiveness and new sources of growth and jobs through cost reduction through improved efficiency, commercialization of innovations and better management of resources throughout the duration of cycle life.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is an important milestone for the preservation of the European marine environment.

This article examines the electricity generation potential from the mass burn application of as-derived and pre-processed municipal solid wastes in Greece.