The Municipality of Kalymnos is among the beneficiaries — Completing all six projects is expected to end €480,000 in annual penalties.
Kalymnos is moving closer to the environmental restoration of its inactive uncontrolled waste disposal site, following a decision by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou to issue a funding call worth €6.4 million for projects on six Greek islands.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the funding will come from its Sectoral Development Programme and cover inactive dumpsites on Mykonos, Tinos, Sifnos, Patmos, Paxos and Kalymnos. The respective municipalities are the designated beneficiaries.
The €6.4 million is the total amount for all six islands. The announcement does not specify how much will be allocated to Kalymnos.
The decision follows months of cooperation between the municipalities and the ministry’s General Secretariat for Waste Management Coordination, which secured environmental approval for the restoration of all six sites.
Restoring the environment and ending penalties
Once the projects are completed, the ministry says Greece will no longer incur €480,000 in annual penalties associated with the failure to restore these particular dumpsites.
For Kalymnos, the funding call marks a significant step towards addressing a longstanding environmental issue. According to the ministry, the restoration work aims to protect residents’ health, improve vulnerable island ecosystems and strengthen the areas’ appeal as tourism destinations.
The initiative forms part of the ministry’s wider policy to restore illegal dumpsites and eliminate the related European penalties.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Energy.
