Obligations of Citizens & Businesses

Within the framework of the city's cleanliness policy as well as the smooth operation of all City of Athens recycling programmes, citizens and, generally, all individuals who reside or work in Athens can play a catalytic role by adopting a series of simple, everyday actions which make the difference.

Firstly, citizens must learn when municipal garbage collection takes place in their locality and keep refuse indoors until the time of pickup. They should dispose of their garbage between 19:00 and 22:00, and not at other times of the day. Refuse should be placed in tightly-sealed plastic bags and disposed of in municipal bins or compression units, if they exist, whose lids must remain closed.

Also, with regards large items and garden waste, citizens must first telephone the Waste Management Department's citizens line "1960" or the competent City District waste management service before placing the waste items on the street for collection.

A basic rule in any successful recycling programme is to ensure conventional waste is not disposed of in recycling bins.

To help improve the city's visual image, citizens must ensure to throw paper, cigarette butts and other small items of waste into municipal waste bins, and not on the street.

In upgrading the city's aesthetics and safeguarding public health, it is also important that animal owners pick up after their pet using a plastic bag, and not leave animal droppings in parks and on the street.

Efforts to keep Athens clean do not stop here. Citizens must not dispose of any form of waste in open spaces such as properties, parks, wooded areas and forestland located within or outside the city plan, while they should ensure to keep their own property and home clean.

Furthermore, posters, banners and other forms of advertising must be placed only on special advertising panels.

Store owners must also make their contribution to city cleanliness and public hygiene. First of all, commercial waste should be disposed of when stores close for the day. Boxes and all other types of packaging must be folded and compressed in order to reduce their volume before being placed in garbage bins.