Waste transfer station Infrastructure for non – recyclable waste in Thessaloniki Prefecture
FODSA have organised a network of waste transfer stations for the efficient discharge of non – recyclable waste by the municipalities across the Prefecture. The operation of the waste transfer stations helps provide an efficient waste collection system for inhabitants and helps to reduce the carbon footprint in waste collection vehicles having to travel long distances to the sanitary landfill site.
The main transfer station in the Prefecture is Finikas waste transfer station which processes all of the city’s waste. Built in 1995 in conjunction with Kiggen from the Netherlands and MUT from Austria, the facility is totally covered and sound insulated and has three static compactors which compress waste delivered by waste collection vehicles into hermetically sealed roll – on – off containers. It is on two levels, the upper level is where the waste collection vehicles discharge their loads into the three static compactors and the lower level is where the roll – on – off containers receives the waste falling from the top level by gravity into the hopper of the static compactors.
When fully loaded waste collection vehicles arrive at Finikas, their loads are weighed and the vehicles are directed to one of the three static compactor apertures to discharge. A traffic light system is operated: green informs the driver that he can reverse inside the waste transfer station to discharge the load, red informs the driver of other incoming vehicles that he cannot discharge his load in the aperture of the compactor because the roll – on – off container receiving the waste at the lower level of the transfer station may be full and may be in the process of being exchanged with an empty container.
The roll – on – off containers are moved on a traverse moving frame at the lower level. Once a roll – on – off container is full, it is moved to the right, so an empty container from the left can be moved across to the aperture and locked into place for the fresh loading of waste to continue.
Initially, the waste transfer station only processed waste produced by the City of Thessaloniki and the staff who manage and operate it are directly employed by Thessaloniki City. However, more recently the City of Thessaloniki has come to an agreement with the municipalities of Kalamaria, Pylea, Neapoli and Thermi for them to deliver their waste in their own vehicles to Finikas, thus helping them reduce the carbon footprint by not having to deliver the waste directly to the Prefecture’s sanitary landfill site. These municipalities deliver their waste to Finikas mornings on weekdays and on weekends at the evening. Finikas is open twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year, so it is an excellent waste transfer station in respect of providing sustainable and efficient waste collection and waste transfer systems for the city’s collection vehicles as well as those operated by Kalamaria, Pylea, Neapoli and Thermi.
FODSA have also organised waste transfer stations in other parts of Thessaloniki Prefecture, for example, Thermaikos. The waste collection vehicles from Thermaikos municipality deliver their waste to a local transfer station where FODSA have constructed a hopper for the discharge of non – recyclable waste by gravity into Kaoussis 56m3 top loading ejector trailers. The ejector trailers are operated by FODSA and once a waste collection vehicle has discharged its load into the top of the ejector trailer, the compaction ram inside the ejector trailer compresses the waste to the end of the ejector trailer. It is then ready to receive a fresh load of waste from another waste collection vehicle. Once the ejector trailer is full, FODSA replace it with an empty ejector trailer so that the fresh loading of waste by waste collection vehicles from Thermaikos can continue.
FODSA operate a fleet of Renault Kerax and Iveco Trakker 6×4 double drive tractor units which position empty transfer trailers under the transfer station’s loading apertures to enable the fresh loading of waste by waste collection vehicles to continue. They also transport the full ejector trailers to the sanitary landfill site of Thessaloniki Prefecture to be emptied.
