Scavenging of Packaging Waste
in Greece
HERRCO’s Mission
“Extended Producer’s Responsibility Organization”
• Fulfilling the legal obligations on behalf of the affiliated
packaging operators.
• Meeting the National Objectives according to the System’s
Financial and Technical programming
HERRCO operates at a non-profit basis
The System’s Structure
19
Shareholders
325
Municipalities
• Producers and importers of products
• Packaging producers
Central Union of
Greek Municipalities
(35%)
AYS SA
(65%)
HERRCO SA
(EPR
ORGANIZATION)
1.780
CONTRACTED
MEMBERS
HERRCO’s Activities
•
Blue Bin (Municipality) recycling
projects
(commingled recyclables – in some areas multiple streams)
•
Glass collection
Glass collection from professional venues (hotels, restaurants etc.)
•
ICPW and other activities


Recording and certifying recycling from Industrial and Commercial Packaging Waste
(ICPW).
Other recycling sources (delivery from 3rd parties directly to industry, energy recovery, etc.)
Blue Bin projects at a glance
(October 2014)
• 87% population coverage
• 135 thousand Blue Bins in use
• 415 vehicles to the participating municipalities
• 29 Sorting Centers
• 2.200 jobs
• 442 kt of materials were recycled 2013 (1) (+5% increase for 2014)
• €260 mil. for investments and operating costs up to date
• National Targets have been met, except for glass
(1): packaging and printed paper
“Unofficial Recycling”
 Is it a problem? Yes!
 Illegal activities
 Environmental concerns
 Negative impacts to the official (municipal)
packaging waste recovery projects
“Unofficial Recycling”
What is the driving force of the problem? It’s the economy,
my friend!
A profitable activity based on:
 “Getting” the material for free
 No environmental or safety standards are met
 Usually a “tax free” activity
“Unofficial Recycling”
 Are there any solutions? Well, yes!
 Set up an effective immigration policy, (in Greece
scavengers are mainly immigrants)
 Raise the social and economic status of the groups
involved
 Decrease the secondary materials prices 
 Provide “decent” jobs for the scavengers
None of the above lies within the EPR organization
boundaries!
“Unofficial Recycling”
 What else?
 Secure the collected material or even collect it
before they do it
 Prosecute some hundreds (or thousands?) of
people
 Close down the illegal scrap yards
Not easy solutions, if any not for the EPR schemes
alone.
The authorities should take the proper decisions!
What can the EPR schemes do?
 Calculate and/or record the “missing” quantities at the
lowest possible cost.
 Then report the findings to the authorities.
 The above ideally should be done in agreement with
(…and on behalf of…) the authorities (procedures etc.)
 Put the issue on the table as a problem which cannot be
tackled by the EPR schemes alone.
 Communicate the problem with the citizens.
Scavenging of packaging in Greece
 Especially after the start of heavy financial crisis since
2010, it happens on a massive scale
 Potential source of income for unemployed people
(mainly Roma and immigrants)
 Acute problem in high density populated areas
Targeted materials
 Cardboard-newsprint paper (mainly)
 Easy to be removed from the bins
 High priced material
 Possible “heavy” loads with small trucks
 Metals-Plastics (small scale)
 Scavenging not at that large scale as in cardboard
 Light weighted materials → inefficient transportation
 Metals → mainly non-packaging equipment (steel, bronze, copper,
aluminum etc.)
 Plastics → very small scale
Packaging scavenging – Blue bins
Common picture in the streets of Athens
Packaging scavenging – Blue bins
Impacts
 Negative effects to the municipal packaging recycling results
 Decreases the quality of the collected stream
 Increases operating costs of the Sorting Centers (less incoming
valuable materials)
 Negative impact to participating citizens
 Strong negative impacts to cities functionality and environmental image
Cardboard recovery from MSW project
(Blue Bins)
Kg/capita/year
16
14
13.5
12
10
8
8
-40%
6
4
2
0
2010
2013
Estimation of Market size reduction
2010-2013
Based on declared quantities at HERRCO:
-20%
(-35% since 2008)
GDP per capita PPS (purchasing power standard) Index*: -16%
(-19,5% since 2008)
GDP growth rate*:
(-23,5% since 2008)
So you would expect a 16-20% decrease in PW
*source: Eurostat
-17%
Quantifying the annual losses
(Per capita cardboard recovery rate 2010/2013)
But you
get:
- 40%
Market size reduction*
2010-2013: 20%
Because of
Scavenging: 20%
Scavenging quantities estimation:
20,000t – 25,000t per year
*Based on declared quantities to HERRCo
Scavenging materials trade route
Domestic Recycling Plants
Exports
-------------------------------
Recorded at ICWP
results
Big scrap traders
Small scale stockyards
Scavengers
BLUE BINS
The materials end up to the same scrap traders which
trade the ICWP and eventually are recorded by HERRCo
Scavenging materials trade route
verified by HERRCo results
Category
Blue Bin
(MSW)
Industrial
and
Commercial
2012 - 2013
Results Rate (%)
Share
-10%
30%
2012 - 2013
Total 2012 - 2013 Market size rate
Results Rate (%)
(%)
-2,5%
+0,5%
-3%
70%
Total recorded quantities follow the market rate which
means that the quantities missed in the official (blue
bin) recycling reappear at the scrap traders.
Conclusions 1
 Negative financial impact on the Sorting Centres (blue bin
projects),
Financial impacts (revenue losses) caused by the yearly
loss of 25,000 t
 Material sales: €2.4 mil.
 HERRCo funding: €0.25 mil.
 Additional operating cost: €0.8 mil.
€3,5 mil./year
Conclusions 2
 Negative effects to the municipal packaging recycling
results
 Disruption of the blue bin system
 However, quantities from scavengers are being recorded
by HERRCO, not via Municipal Solid Waste, but via
Commercial and Industrial Projects (Scrap Traders
activities)