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Recycling of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the Municipality of Thessaloniki and operating costs of the Thessaloniki Waste Transfer Station (Master thesis)

Καραμπατζάκη, Κωνσταντίνα/ Karampatzaki, Konstantina/ Περιβαλλοντική Μηχανική και Επιστήμη/ Environmental Engineering and Science

Solid waste management is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, for this reason many methodologies have been researched and adopted that help in their optimal management. In the Municipality of Thessaloniki, a significant effort is made to manage, on a daily basis, a huge amount of waste, which has fluctuated significantly in recent years, due to the special conditions that the city has faced, such as the COVID – 19 pandemics, the increase in tourist flow, etc. According to the data, in the three-year period 2021 – 2023, the targets for optimal waste management were not the best possible with the rates of recycling, recovery and diversion of waste decreasing, despite the reduction in the total quantity of waste. In addition, the operating costs of the city's Waste Transfer Point increased significantly, burdening the financial situation of the city's management system. Based on the above, the objective of this thesis is the quantitative evaluation of the environmental and economic performance of the Waste Transfer Station (WTS) in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which is the main service provider. Through the collection of data from the competent body and their further analysis, an attempt is made to calculate and capture the situation as it has developed. The analysis shows that there are problems with the separation of the various streams, with multiple causes such as insufficient information from citizens and possibly problematic management on the part of the Municipality. The conclusions of the research also result in the formulation of proposals for resolving the issues that have been highlighted.