Environmental impact and sustainability assessment associated with solid waste management in Patras, Greece: a useful guide for medium-sized cities

Abstract

Due to the lack of appropriate policies in the last decades, Greece has delayed to adopt integrated practices on solid waste management. municipal solid waste (MSW) management has been recognised as one of the most urgent problems in Greece which was compelled by European Engagements to follow an efficient strategy. An integrated methodology for the MSW management of the Municipality of Patras, the third largest city in Greece, which involves the construction of a combustion unit, is developed and analysed. Furthermore, the estimated investment and operating cost of the suggested scenario and the implementation of a pilot composting scheme are comprehensively presented in the prism of current trends and the provisions of EU norms. This study is proposed as a useful guide for the waste management of the MSW in medium-sized cities which face similar waste management problems.