Three major fires breaking out in recycling sites over the past three months, in northern and central Greece and near Athens, show the dangers of sites and their propensity to catch fire.
Scrapyards, where flammable material, especially plastics, are stashed without regard to safety protocols, are even more dangerous, Fire Service officials say.
Scientists warn about the toxic clouds created by burning plastic. But the melted residue, tons of it, is buried and forgotten until the next emergency and texts by authorities to nearby residents to avoid going outside.
“No one will believe me when I say I was entirely legal,” the owner of a plastics recycling unit told Kathimerini, on condition of anonymity. “The Fire Service investigation found no issues with the permits and the factory’s firefighting equipment,” he says. He adds, though, that insurance companies refuse to insure recycling installations because of the risks involved.
People involved in recycling say that at one time great amounts of plastics and other materials were exported to China. But, in 2018, the Chinese enacted stricter environmental regulations and exports crashed. The situation in recycling sites and, especially, scrapyards, has worsened since then.
