Probe into handling of waste in Aspropyrgos

The head of the first instance prosecutor’s office in Athens, Panayiota Fakou, on Friday ordered a preliminary investigation into how hospital and potentially other toxic waste is being stored in Aspropyrgos.

The probe was requested after Kathimerini reported that environmental inspectors had been shocked by what they found when they visited the premises of a waste management company in the area. The officials who spoke to the newspaper said that they were appalled by the site and stench of tons of garbage that had been left in a makeshift landfill.

The company is one of several that collect waste in the area west of Athens and has been given a license to do so by the local authority. A person with knowledge of how some of these firms work said that employees only sift through rubbish to remove metals and other valuable items, while the rest is dumped on their premises.