Circular Economy Aspects of the New National Solid Waste Management Plan and Citizens' Engagement in Northern Greece

The amended Waste Framework Directive (WFD) highlights the circular use of resources and the minimization of solid waste. To align with these concepts, the Greek Law is now implementing pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) systems and Rewarding Recycling (RR) schemes and establishing incorporated Green Points (GPs) and Recycling Corners (RCs). These additions aspire to enhance source separation and to facilitate recycling so that materials can be re-used. In order to assess the public opinion on these measures, a web-based questionnaire aimed at citizens of 5 municipalities of Thessaloniki Regional Area in Northern Greece was answered by 1614 respondents. The questionnaire assessed their degree of knowledge on PAYT, RR and GPs & RCs, as well as their attitude on the usefulness of these schemes. Results showed in general a lack of knowledge of these schemes, however many interviewees agreed that these governmental policies will increase recycling and will contribute to sustainable waste management (WM). Older people (56–65 years old) were more favorably inclined towards some of these policies; women rather than men were more favorably inclined towards GPs and RCs, while young people were generally more indifferent. These results show that: 1) the expected time-related goals of the new Greek WM policies should urgently be re-evaluated 2) the social participation aspect should urgently be enhanced via targeted informative campaigns 3) campaigns aimed specifically at young people should be created, aspiring to instigate, engage, educate and inform.