The online event was co-organized by ELOT and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN) as part of the LIFE-IP CEI-Greece-LIFE18 IPE/GR/000013 project "Implementation of the Circular Economy in Greece" and served as the first phase of consultations aimed at drafting new ELOT standards for specific value chains of the Circular Economy.

THALIS participated in the dialogue with the presentation "Value Chain for Urban Waste Management and the Production of Secondary Raw Materials," highlighting, among other things, the need for standardization in the bio-waste value chain, which must include all stages, namely collection, processing, and its products.

"It is clear that both collection and processing, as well as the resulting products, must be integrated into a design based on a holistic approach. Therefore, optimizing the design is crucial for improving all these stages, with undeniable impact on the technical characteristics and overall processing costs for the provision of management services and the production of circular products. The development and implementation of new standards will also significantly upgrade the operation of many units, which is already necessary for sustainability reasons. This will pave the way for the production of other value-added products, such as biofuels and bio-based chemicals. It is noted that, starting in 2027, the product generated by the majority of organic waste processing units currently operating in the country (CLO) will no longer be counted toward the recycling rates and the country's performance," stated Mr. George Koufodimos, Director of Construction, Operations, and Engineering at THALIS, in his speech.

With its accumulated experience in the circular economy, THALIS will significantly contribute to ELOT's efforts to develop standards aimed at improving circularity and producing high-quality secondary materials.