European Parliament 2019-2024

Committee on Petitions

11.11.2019

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

Subject: Petition 1710/2013 by Kyriakos Gkikas (Greek) on the Fyli landfill and its impact on the environment and the health of local residents

Petition No 2887/2013 by Harilaos Marmaros (Greek) , on behalf of the Struggle Committee of Fyli (Epitropi Agona Fylis), bearing 1 520 signatures, on the effects of the sanitary landfill on the surrounding area and its residents, as well as on its definitive closure.

1. Summary of petition 1710/2013

The petitioner indicates that the Fyli landfill, which has already been in operation for 53 years, is causing extremely serious health problems among local residents of all ages (including skin disorders and cancer) and hence social, domestic and financial problems. He wishes to know whether the Greek authorities have taken any measures to protect the health of those affected, have the landfill closed down, prevent the opening of a new illegal waste disposal site and rehabilitate the area in environmental and archaeological terms. He expresses concern at the lack of toxicological and epidemiological monitoring and the failure to implement global best practices regarding waste management. He also wishes to know why the EU is continuing to fund such massive mixed waste disposal sites, calling for the immediate and definitive closure of the landfill in question, for prevention, rehabilitation grassroots dialogue, and the recycling and composting of waste by the authorities acting in the public interest and under close and continuous inspection.

Summary of petition 2887/2013

The petitioner refers to the Fyli sanitary landfill site, which has a surface area of 4.5 million square metres, has been in operation since 1960 and is located close to housing and commercial buildings. It has been expanded several times and also houses recycling facilities; however, mainly mixed and untreated waste residue has been buried as landfill. Its operation has a significant impact on residents’ health, due to inhalation of airborne particles, as well as

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EN United in diversityEN water and food contamination (cases of cancer, teratogenesis, respiratory diseases, lung/dermatological/hepatic diseases, thyroid gland and nervous system disorders, allergies). Moreover, it has adverse effects on the environment (air, soil and aquifer), which have been confirmed by environmental inspectors and university studies, as well as social and financial consequences for the local residents. They request that members of the Committee on Petitions visit the landfill, that the landfill and all the facilities located within it are shut down immediately, that environmentally friendly alternative waste management methods be established, together with a recycling system, that measures for the protection of the environment and the health of the citizens be taken, and that a toxicological-epidemiological study be conducted immediately on the population of the local municipality by independent international organisations.

2. Admissibility

Petition 1710/2013 declared admissible on 13 June 2014. Petition 2887/2013 declared admissible on 10 December 2014. Information requested from Commission under Rule 216(6).

3. Commission reply to petition 1710/2013, received on 31 October 2014

The Commission is aware of the challenges faced by in the waste sector. On 21 February 2013 it decided to refer the country back to the European Court of Justice for failing to implement an earlier ruling on illegal landfills. In 2005, the Court ruled that Greece was not taking sufficient measures to close down and rehabilitate all the illegal landfills operating across the country and as no satisfactory progress had been made more than 9 years after the ruling, the Commission asked the Court to impose financial penalties on Greece. On 4 September 2014 the Advocate General published her opinion on the case and also asked the Court to impose financial penalties on Greece. The above case concerns the operation of sites of unlicensed and uncontrolled disposal of waste and not licensed waste facilities (such as the one in Fyli) which are deemed to be operating without respecting the environmental conditions ("Περιβαλλοντικοί Οροι" in Greek) included in their permit. In the area of environment, the European Union has adopted an important number of Directives containing minimum requirements. However, it should be noted that the European Commission does not have the competence to conduct on-site inspections in the Member States in order to investigate compliance with EU directives in the area of environment. Member States have the obligation to transpose the EU directives in the area of environment into national law and it is therefore the national legislation that applies to the concrete situations; thereafter, the relevant national authorities have the responsibility to adequately enforce the national provisions transposing the EU waste legislation. In addition, Member States have the duty to provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by EU law1. The Commission is providing technical assistance to the Greek authorities to assist them to fully comply with the EU waste legislation and is closely monitoring not only the waste

1 Article 19 (1) second subparagraph of the Treaty on European Union.

PE541.580v03-00 2/4 CM\1192410EN.docx EN situation in Greece in general but also the functioning of Fyli which is the biggest landfill of the country. To that effect a new EU Pilot file has recently been opened. The aim of this file is, among others, to monitor the progress made by the competent authorities in implementing the various recommendations imposed by the inspectors. It should be stressed that on-site inspections are regularly being carried out in the Fyli landfill by competent national services in order to monitor compliance with EU and national waste legislation and recommendations/sanctions are imposed on the operator of the landfill. In the past, it was possible to finance from EU funds any type of waste treatment installations, including landfills, on condition they were in line with relevant EU legislation. The services of the European Commission received the closure documents from the Greek authorities of the Cohesion Fund project 2000-2006 '' Construction of the second landfill of Western in Fyli ''. In the light of all these documents the Commission services determined that the project met the necessary requirements in order to receive the final payment. Thus the project is paid and closed. Such approach was justified by the need to avoid uncontrolled dumping of waste. In the new financing period (2014-2020) the financing of landfills will no longer be possible (except on ) unless they are part of an integrated waste facility. Moreover, the Greek authorities will have to prepare a credible action plan to meet landfill diversion and recycling targets as a necessary condition to receive financing from EU cohesion funds. Conclusions The Commission will continue to monitor the situation in Fyli, and the measures taken by the Greek authorities not only to guarantee an adequate functioning of the landfill but also to establish an adequate network of integrated waste facilities once the Fyli landfill reaches its maximum capacity. The Commission will use all available means to this end, including financial instruments, and share technical expertise with Greece.

4. Commission reply to petition 2887/2013, received on 29 April 2015

The Commission would like to refer the Committee on Petitions to the answer provided by the Commission to petition 1710/2013 concerning the same case.

5. Commission reply, received on 30 August 2017

Petitions 1710/2013 and 2887/2013

In December 2016, the competent authorities of Attica approved a new regional waste management plan, communicated to the European Commission. The plan establishes the necessary network of waste management facilities in the region in compliance with Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste1 and Directive 2008/98/EC on waste2.

Furthermore, the Commission has not received any recent complaints concerning the Fyli

1 OJ L 182, 16/07/1999. 2 OJ L 312, 22.11.2008.

CM\1192410EN.docx 3/4 PE541.580v03-00 EN landfill. The EU Pilot opened in 2014 was closed in March 2017, with the possibility of reopening it in the future if new irregularities are demonstrated in relation to this site and if it appears that the management body of the landfill has not taken, over a protracted period of time, all the measures that are necessary to bring the functioning of the landfill back into compliance.

Conclusion

The Commission services conclude that the competent Greek authorities have taken appropriate measures concerning the Fyli landfill. In the absence of evidence that the measures taken by the Greek authorities are insufficient or inadequate, the Commission services consider that it is not necessary to further investigate this case.

6. Commission reply (REV. II), received on 11 November 2019

Petitions 1710/2013 and 2887/2013

In July 2018, the Greek Ministry of Health wrote to the Chair of the Committee on Petitions in reply to their query on the environmental and human health situation in the Fyli landfill site. The Ministry replied that it was not directly competent on that matter and referred the Committee to the information enclosed by EDSNA, the Association of Municipalities in the Attica region, the body responsible in Attica for the management of solid waste.

EDSNA reported that they had launched an epidemiological and environmental study in December 2017 for a duration of 2 years to ascertain the impacts of the landfill site on human health and the environment. EDSNA enclosed four interim progress non-conclusive reports with data on workers’ health, environmental parameters on air, soil, water, etc. and methodology.

Conclusion

Considering the above information, the Commission will continue to monitor the situation in Fyli in the light of the conclusions of the final report of the study expected for the beginning of 2020.

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