FFF6 | From the Mountains of Fyli - A dinner on waste management and its economies

How many tons of waste are produced in Athens per day? Who is picking up the waste? Is the recycling of the blue bin a myth? How are Grammatiko, Volos and Fyli connected? Who is ultimately responsible for waste disposal, the Ministries, municipalities or citizens?

Invited by the Fast Forward Festival 6, Franziska Pierwoss and Sandra Teitge are investigating the Greek waste management system and its multiple components. The research comprises interviews with experts as well as visits of the Fyli Landfill, one of Europe’s largest landfills and the primary waste depot of Athens and Attica, that has been in operation for decades and continues to receive approximately 6,000 tons of garbage each day; following municipal garbage collectors on their night shift and mapping the routes of informal waste transport through Athens; as well as touring recycling sorting centers.

For their subversive dinner performance in Athens, Franziska Pierwoss and Sandra Teitge invite a wide range of protagonists from the waste management sector, from public authority figures, workers, and politicians to companies, collectives, organizations, local inhabitants, as well as the general public to become dinner companions over a menu specially conceived for the occasion. Guests are invited to discuss the duo’s research in Athens, Thessaloniki and Volos, the role and interplay of the private and public sector, recycling, circular economies, possible scenarios for energy recovery from waste, as well as how the issue of waste management links to the economy of the commons.

Franziska Pierwoss and Sandra Teitge – in collaboration with a Greek team of researchers and acclaimed chefs – are creating a platform for exchange that allows for unexpected encounters, discussions, and controversies offering space for a new interpretation and analysis of the current situation. The breadth of opinions and viewpoints creates an open scenario to debate unresolved questions regarding the past, present, and future of waste management in Athens and Greece.