This Gorgeous Greek Town Is The First Zero Waste Island, And The World Needs To Follow Their Lead

Balkan Green Energy News

A tiny town in Greece has been doing its part to lessen the amount of waste it produces, by a whopping 86% at that too!

Tilos, which is an island of just over 500 people and 350 households, has managed to keep their gorgeous surroundings beautiful and clean by removing their landfill and replacing it with a circular system that works to reduce their waste. Moreover, they also removed the usual big sized common trash bins that are normally left out for public waste.


This pilot project, which is named Just Go Zero initiative, was set up by the company Polygreen, in the hopes that other Greek islands will also begin similar programs like this. The company shares on their website that Just Go Zero is ‘a way of thinking, a way of life, an algorithm that can be applied wherever citizens ask for it. Whether it will be a city, island or state is only about the adaptation of the technical solution – as it was adapted to Tilos, so it will be adapted to any other place the citizens choose.’

How it works is it turns all the biodegradable waste into soil treatments, while metals, plastics, glass and paper trash are all recycled. As for the non-recyclable goods, they also provide an upcycle center for items that are still working, as well as for clothes and electronics that could either be reused by someone else or for what they consider artistic creations.

Founder of Polygreen, Athanasios Polychronopoulos, explained, “A new culture starts today in Tilos, a culture characterized by 100% landfill diversion, full circular waste management and, most importantly, a completely new perception of life. We are envisioning a future, where waste will only be seen in museums.”


How the system works is that every resident on the Aegean island is provided with a number of bags where they need to separate all of the materials. And like the rest of the world’s waste collection, where a truck normally comes to take it away on particular days, here, they pick up and bring it to their current processing center. In addition, the Just Go Zero app provides its users to track how much material they’ve recycled, as well as what other projects and products it will be used for moving forward.

It would seem that most communities and states would have many reasons for wanting a recycling-based waste system, which would not only provide a number of jobs to locals, but would also help keep the surroundings clean, especially if you happen to live on an island that’s just 24-square miles.

Take a cue from this inspirational island by seeing their progress in the video below:

 

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