The Municipality of Loutraki – Perachora – Agioi Theodoros could be characterized as a model Municipality in terms of the area of cleanliness and beautification of the green area, since every day the competent Service, led by the Deputy Mayor Athanasios Mouzakis, does its best and of course… succeeds . The interest in a clean and beautiful Municipality is continuous and the citizens see and respect this, with few exceptions of citizens who deposit waste wherever they ..convenient!
We spoke in the morning with Mr. Mouzakis who told us many interesting things about his responsibilities and his daily struggle with the undivided cooperation of the staff:
Q: Mr. Mouzaki, what are the projects that your department is currently carrying out?
A: Every day with the Cleaning and Greenery Service we work to upgrade our Municipality. We carry out works that beautify our place, actions that, with our ally the technical staff, aim for a civilized everyday life and we continue the beautification of our Municipality every day.
At this time, we intensively prune the trees in the cities and in Loutraki and Agios Theodorou so that the Christmas decorations can be placed on top, to decorate the city, to light the Christmas tree. And the Electric Lighting Service and the Cleaning and Greenery Service, in cooperation, work intensively.
We intervene in all areas of our Municipality, from Schinos to Agios Theodoros, the Municipality is large, the scope of our Municipality is large, the greenery is extensive, it requires daily care – pruning, restoration, beautification, beautification – and we have to be in some area every day, so that we can repair the damage that may be done, but also that it is a decent Municipality.
The cleaning and green service, with the few staff it has, is trying. Applications are now being taken – until Monday – to take on staff on eight-month contracts, which will start in the new year. It is a service with few staff. We try to do our best to raise the standard of living of our fellow citizens.
Q: What are your priorities for the coming years?
A: We are updating the cleanliness regulation, in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of the Environment, which determines the structure and minimum content of the 1st degree local government regulation. Here we have to harmonize with this legislation and update it. There are articles about various obligations that the citizen has and, of course, because there are too many who pollute, I will say it and emphasize it, there are articles that determine the fines and give directions for the fines through Law 4819/21 which is the Integrated Waste Management Framework Act and sets out the framework for fines.
The local waste management plan for our Municipality has also been drawn up and is in the process of approval and includes various actions resulting from Law 4819/2021 that are part of the five-year plan. I will give you some examples:
– the development of a network of public drinking water taps with funding from the Municipality’s own resources.
– the development of a separate bio-waste collection network (the brown bins), which must be included in the NSRP.
– the improvement of green waste collection and management services.
– separate collection in corners for recycling.
This is all for 2023 and 2024.
The “green note” where separate collection will be done in Throuvala has already been auctioned and will start.
For 2024 we have the separate collection of paper in yellow bins, information, awareness and reward actions for our fellow citizens, as we also have an ultimate goal and at the depth of the five years, the modernization of the cleaning service and the organization of a management and control system have already been done . This is, as I told you, the local waste management plan for the five years.
These are some of the actions we are planning for 2023, 2024 and even 2027.
Q: What would you like to say to the citizens, what would you ask them?
A: I have repeatedly said that it is the responsibility of the Municipality to maintain cleanliness and orderliness, because cleanliness is culture. We should have our ally and the ordinary citizen to help us.
For our part, we do everything possible but – I repeat – there are many who pollute.
In the previous days – miraculously – someone had gone and pruned all his olive trees and taken them to a place where our fellow citizens deposit waste. And the Municipality is now obliged to go and collect them, so that a landfill is not created there. I think that these should not be done, I think that the citizens should be allies. They are a minority, I do not want to include all our fellow citizens. And of course you can be sure that the Municipal Police will be more strict with the polluters because they count for nothing and I think there is no education from the minority, I repeat.
Now there are some fines starting from 100 euros, but with the new regulation the fines provided for in the articles of Law 4819/2021 will be included.
Q: When do you see the start of the lighting of the Christmas Tree and all that you are preparing for Christmas?
A: Our services work every day, morning and afternoon. I think early December. In other words, the Municipality can be illuminated on the first five days of December. Because, don’t forget, the Municipality has a large area, it’s not only the urban centers – Loutraki, Agioi Theodoroi – it’s also the surrounding areas, the local communities, Isthmia, Pisia, Perachora, Kalamaki, there are various places, the which also require works by the technical staff but also require a lot of work, that’s why I tell you that the services also work in the afternoon, with electric lighting, in order to catch up.
G.P
Tags: Interview Athanasios Mouzakis standard living common citizen ally
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