Everything about Psyttaleia totally explained
Psyttaleia (
Greek: Ψυττάλεια) is an uninhabited island in the
Saronic Gulf a few miles off the coast of
Piraeus,
Greece. It covers an area of 0.375
square kilometers. The island currently houses the largest
sewage treatment plant in Europe, with a projected daily maximum drying capacity of 750 tons of sewage. Administratively it's part of the
Municipality of
Piraeus.
History
In 480 BC, before the naval
battle of Salamis, the
Persians installed a guard of soldiers and noblemen. After the Greek victory, the Persian fleet retreated towards
Phaliron and the guard was abandoned.
Aristides, the Athenian
strategos, landed on the island and executed all Persians. During that time, the island was called
Lypsokoutála (Λυψοκουτάλα - lit.
half-spoon), due to the fact that it resembled a half-spoon when seen from the
Aegaleo mountain. In modern history, the island was briefly transformed into a naval prison, in accordance with the French model of the time.
Sewage treatment plant
Since the 1990s, the
Saronic Gulf was starting to become polluted by industrial and residential sewage from
Athens and
Piraeus. In order to protect the ecosystem and due to considerations for negative implications on
tourism, a
sewage treatment plant was installed on the island which started operation on November 1994. This included the
primary treatment, which prevents the waste from entering the sea, but didn't provide a permanent solution for the resulting sludge. Temporary solutions of exporting the sludge and of neutralizing it through oxidization proved insufficient over the years.
On
June 1,
2007, the
sludge treatment plant was put into operation, with two production lines of a total waste drying capacity of 500 tons per day, which matches today's daily sewage influx. Another two production lines started operation a month later, raising the total capacity to more than 750 tons per day. On October 5, 2007,
environment vice-minister Themistoklis Xanthopoulos announced that there won't be one kilo of sludge left in the following 5 months, that full operation has been completed, and that stern auditors such as the
European Court of Auditors have exclaimed the quality of the plant.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Psyttaleia'.
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