As clock ticks down, Greece tries to clean up its act on waste

Cell phone glued to his ear, Kosmas Vassilas watches his truck crews round up multi-coloured bins on the island of Corfu, where a groundbreaking recycling initiative is bucking the trend of Greece’s anarchic waste disposal.

In a country where many think nothing of dumping used appliances, old furniture and even toilets on the street with their garbage, the municipality of North Corfu has launched a programme that has residents sort their waste into more than a dozen bins.

Besides yellow for paper, red for plastic and blue for aluminium, there are bins for second-hand clothing, empty ink cartridges, used lightbulbs, electrical appliances and cooking oil, among others.

“People call to throw away a mattress, a fridge, anything you can imagine,” said Vassilas, a municipal supervisor, as bri