Rena Doura condemns Attica waste recycling plan as failed and wasteful

Rena Doura, president of the SYRIZA parliamentary group, sharply criticised the "Strategic Plan for Recycling & Waste Management" presented by Attica regional governor Nikos Hardalias. She said the plan is "a revealing admission of political failure" by the New Democracy government and continues the same "golden procurement" logic of direct awards that has led the region into an environmental and financial dead‑end. Doura noted that the plan budgets €350.5 million, largely financed by landfill fees paid by municipalities and citizens, while most spending is directed to equipment such as thousands of bins and vehicles rather than substantive infrastructure. She linked the plan to the ongoing European Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into the "recycling‑house" scandal, arguing that it perpetuates the previous administration’s flawed procurement practices. Doura also recalled the 2019 warning by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about a "health bomb" in Attica, highlighting that seven years of inaction have only worsened waste‑treatment conditions, with facilities like the Western Athens landfill operating under dangerous "over‑filling" measures.