A three-day series of activities (22–24 October 2024), including a collaboration meeting, a workshop, and a final conference, was successfully organized by the Municipality of Galatsi at the “Kamini” Cultural Centre, in its role as coordinator of the CAT4HEAVY project, funded by the European environmental programme LIFE17 ENV/GR/000352.
Specifically, on Wednesday, 23 October 2024, the CAT4HEAVY workshop took place with the participation of Mr. Kresten Kjaer Sorensen, representative of the LIFE Close to Market (C2M) Experts. The session focused on the exchange of best practices and discussions on future plans.
On Thursday, 24 October 2024, the final conference of the CAT4HEAVY project was successfully concluded, again within the framework of the LIFE17 ENV/GR/000352 programme. The Municipality of Galatsi acted as the coordinating partner, with project partners including MONOLITHOS LTD (Greece), LOMARTOV SL (Spain), MNLT (Greece), ALTRAN (Germany), GEAM (Waste Management Company – Port of Genoa, Italy), and APAM (Urban & Intercity Public Transport Company of Mantua, Italy). The event took place at the Kamini Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Galatsi and featured prominent speakers from all project partners, as well as chemical engineer Mr. Michalis Delagrammatikas, who highlighted the importance and mechanisms of the circular economy.
The participation of students and teachers from the 3rd Grade of the 1st Vocational High School (EPAL) of Galatsi was particularly significant, as they posed insightful questions regarding the nanocatalyst’s use and function, as well as the overall progress and completion of the project.
It is worth noting that although heavy-duty public vehicles (garbage trucks, sweepers, cranes, lorries, etc.) make up only 5% of the total vehicle fleet, they are responsible for 33% of pollutant emissions in European cities. Moreover, due to their comparatively lower operational usage than privately owned heavy vehicles (e.g., the average annual usage of Galatsi’s municipal fleet is under 15,000 km), they can remain in service for up to 22 years, owing to their high replacement cost (exceeding €150,000 per vehicle). As a result, older heavy-duty vehicles—some of which may comply with as early as Euro I standards—continue to circulate, disproportionately impacting urban air quality across Europe.
To address this issue, the European Union launched a series of air quality improvement actions in cities under the 2017 LIFE Environment Action.
With a primary goal of improving quality of life in Galatsi, the Municipality is now pioneering at the European level, promoting innovation and outward-looking practices. However, this is only one step in an ongoing daily effort to ensure a clean, environmentally friendly city. This effort must not be solitary—it calls for all citizens and visitors to stand as allies in this mission.
We live in an era where environmental protection emerges as the most critical issue of our time—a matter of substance that directly concerns our lives. Therefore, improving the quality of life in our city requires bold interventions aimed at effectively counteracting the ongoing environmental degradation caused by human activity.
