Construction companie in Greece will be required to recycle 30 percent of rubble generated at building sites in legislation that aims to clean up the country of randomly dumped construction waste and to ease demand for quarry services, according to Kathimerini, an English-language newspaper.
Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias signed the presidential decree, introducing the obligation to recycle debris after a delay of more than four years.
The Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, pulled the brake on the proposed law due to the lack of recycling body able to oversee the implementation of the law.
Builders will be required to obtain written confirmation from a certified recycling company showing they have recycled 30 percent of their building debris. By 2013, the minimum limit will be lifted to 60 percent.
The legislation will require builders to use materials, such as bricks and steel girders, that meet certain specifications that allow them to be reused.
Paperwork proving that the right procedures have been adhered to will also have to be submitted to town-planning offices.
Apart from helping lower demand for quarry services, the law is seen as means of helping to clean up the tons of building waste dumped in vacant lots and park areas around the country.