Hello
I am Swiss and have been living on this island for over 5 years. Rhodes is such a wonderful island but it is the Greek people who live here who destroy this island. It is not just what you have described in your post, it is also that they dont care whether the island looks full of waste or not. It is much easier to throw an empty bottle or even dirty nappies out of the car window than put it in a waste bin when arriving home. What upsets me is also that they put their rubbish, i.e. fridges, furniture, ovens, even cars somewhere on the island. It upsets me seeing the huge rubbish piles when I go for walks with my dog on the Afandou beach. They want the money of the tourists but they do not care about their island and about the health of the tourists nor their children.

Will all participants in this discussion PLEASE try and not get political,we don't normally allow this type of topic on the holiday forum, if it should expand to other parts of the Hellenic republic then i will have to move it to the Greek chat thread in the Greece and other islands forum

yasoo

wizard

John I completely agree, I love Rhodes, that much so I bought a villa out there. However the fly tipping and old abandoned cars at the side of the road is not very nice to look at when you are driving round. I do wish they would do something about this.

Just an update on my activities:

I have contacted several newspapers and a radiostation, to try to make the problem more public, and inform people about the health problems caused by the toxic smoke. People just do not know that the smoke is not only a nuisance, but very dangerous.

The firebrigade once answered my call and was first not willing to extinguish the fire.
"What do you want us to do? They are burning cables, we know that"
The prefecture said it is not in their jurisdiction, although they have a department for environmental issues.
The mayor's secretary promised to call back, and as he did not , we called him again 10 days later.
He said there is no law against burning cables, and that when the firebrigade goes there to extinguish the fires, the people complain, because burning pvc-insulation off cables, to retrieve the metal, is their business.
I guess that's it then, if you claim it is your business, you can poison a whole area and its residents.

On the more humorous side, you should still travel to Rhodes. I guess it is a bargain, and good for your ecological conscience, too.
You get a true third world experience, but cause only a fraction of the CO2-Emissions to get here.

Not giving up yet, I know there are European laws that forbid this, and if it has to be done, I will take this to the European authorities.

Update:
Since it is fair, to acknowledge if something positive is announced, here is a translation of parts of an article from a local newspaper:
The 5th of June is the day of the environment.
The local politicians have therefore announced to take drastic measures against illegal dumping of garbage near streets, in forests, and anywhere else it does not belong.
They promised to collect the garbage , starting with the bigger pieces like household appliances.
Any truck-owners getting caught while dumping materials illegally risk fines, and even the loss of their transportlicence.That will put them out of business.
In the same article, the uncontrolled burning of plastics and cables was also mentioned in a single sentence.
It is also explicitly acknowledged, that a protected environment is a must for our future and our tourism. They also realize that "our foreign visitors are sensible to environmental issues".
They also recognize the necessity to make a change through education. Everybody should understand, that a change in behaviour is vital for the island's future.
This means, that your fair and constructive criticism counts! You bring the money, so make your concerns heard.

There is some hope, but I think the effort has to be kept up, and we all got to remind the Prefect and the Mayors of their promise, if the situation does not improve!