Competition Commission posts Interim Report on waste & recycling

The Hellenic Competition Commission posted for public consultation its Interim Report on an investigation in the sectors of waste management and recycling of Greece on Tuesday.

In the mid-term report, the Commission reports among other issues (a) obstacles to new actors entering the market, (b) high concentration rates, and (c) potential distortions in competition.

Specifically;

For (a), the Commission found that the licensing process was time consuming and costly, of short duration, with highly demanding technical know-how and vague legislative framework.

For (b), it found that activity was concentrated in certain activities of the sectors to a much higher degree (e.g. in excavation and construction waste) than others (e.g. collective alternative management systems).

For (c), it found that if a single company dominates the market, there is danger of anti-competitive practices showing up, e.g. a refusal to collaborate with a vendor or a demand for exclusive collaboration with one.

In addition, the Commision's Interim Report notes that the number of active recycling companies for ship waste is very low in Greece, with 2 exclusively active in solid waste, 1 exclusively active in liquid waste, and only 1 recycling both solid and liquid ship waste. 

It pointed out moreover to a potential competition distortion in collaborations among port management authorities and the same, exclusive, collector of ship waste.

AMNA