Alophi: Residents React to AEKK Waste Processing Unit

A general assembly of residents and civil organizations was held on the afternoon of Monday, August 10 at the Anglican Church premises at the former American Base in Gournes, to discuss the planned waste processing unit for construction and demolition debris at the former Alophi quarry site in the Municipality of Chersonisos.

The assembly decided to establish a coordinating committee, schedule a meeting with Maria Kozyrakhi, Secretary of the Decentralized Administration of Crete, and organize a demonstration outside the Holy Archbishop’s office of Crete. The choice of the Archbishop’s office as the mobilization point is connected to the property ownership status of the area where the facility is planned.

The site belongs to the Holy Monastery of Alophi and the existing lease agreement remains valid until next January. A total of 2,500 resident signatures have already been collected, and the collection continues. A memorandum has been submitted outlining the project’s impact on the broader area, which includes inhabited settlements and tourist facilities. These units receive construction debris and excavation materials, which are crushed and recovered as aggregates for reuse in projects, a process that generates dust and noise.

Nikos Somares, president of the Gournes Pediada Cultural Association and elected member of the Alophi local community, stated: “We want the Archbishop of Crete at our side.” According to him, licensing has nearly progressed following developments in regional waste management planning, and now only the formal phase of permit issuance is pending. He noted that competent ministries have given positive approvals, a fact that residents consider makes intervention at the lease level urgent.

Resident Giorgos Maltezakis, on behalf of the Active Citizens movement and the Alophi Cultural Association, noted that the study predicts 160 trucks, meaning 320 trips, with additional burdens from dust, noise and traffic in an area adjacent to settlements. The assembly also conveyed the view that the Archbishop does not intend to renew the lease, though there has been no official statement from the Holy Archbishop’s office so far. Residents believe that non-renewal of the contract would be the fastest way to eliminate the project, regardless of the licensing process.

The memorandum will be sent to the Crete Region, the Holy Archbishop’s office of Crete, the Holy Monastery of Alophi and to members of parliament from Heraklion County. In parallel, they are requesting amendments to Article 55 of law 4710/2020, so that units of this type in inactive quarries are subject to stricter criteria when adjacent to inhabited or tourist areas.

Negative recommendations have already been issued by the local council of Alophi, the municipality, the Crete Region and the archaeological service, though these are not binding for final licensing. Residents declare they will continue mobilization efforts until there is a definitive response. More about Chersonisos on the page Chersonisos.