Tílos, the small Greek island sets an example for big cities around the world

In the Dodecanese archipelago, facing Turkey, the small Greek island of Tílos has all the makings of a big one in terms of ecological transition. Already self-sufficient in green energy, this isolated piece of land measuring 65 square kilometers is the first island in the world to have received, in 2023, “zero waste” certification from the European Union.

At the origin of this success, the “Just Go Zero” Tílos program initiated by the Greek group Polygreen, which set up the sorting, collection and recycling of waste. Today, the island’s 800 inhabitants carefully sort their trash and the collection is done door to door; even tourists participate. The plastic collected is then recycled in a landfill, the most innovative in the Mediterranean.

While previously the island’s waste was burned or buried, a very polluting process, it now has a second life. The director of the recycling center, Vasilis Karagiannis, is proud to have contributed to making Tílos greener but he does not intend to stop there: “We sort plastic bags, plastic packaging, plastic bottles and hard plastic separately, four different sorts. We have a recycling rate of 90%. We are the first island certified ‘zero waste’, our next step is to convince residents to reduce their consumption.”

What can be recycled is compacted and sent to Athens by boat; it cannot be but poses no danger (like ampoules, pens, aerosols or medicine tablets) is crushed and sterilized in a machine. The flakes that come out are then resold in Athens to be used as fuel for cement factories. For the inhabitants of Tílos, this recycling costs nothing, because the private company uses the island as a laboratory. It intends to use this positive experience in other countries and has already signed a contract to install a factory in Abu Dhabi.

Maria Kamma, mayor of Tílos for twelve years, is the initiator of this project. With the recycling company, it has set up an application to allow everyone to know their production of organic or recyclable waste. According to her, the practice of “zero waste” can be adapted to any territory, it’s all a question of will: “There are people who tell us that what we do is easier because the island is small, because it is easier to share information. I don’t believe it, what matters is to radically change our philosophy and way of life.”

Excerpt from “Greece, Azores: the promise of the islands”, broadcast in “We, the Europeans” on June 27, 2024.

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