Heraklion Cleaning Service Battles Mounting Trash

Since April 2024, the Heraklion Cleaning Service has operated with only one-third of its team, creating many problems. Any tourist walking the streets of Heraklion in the summer of 2025 might spot a new local attraction: piles of trash not-so-stealthily decorating the corners. No, this isn’t the city’s guerrilla art movement—it’s what happens when the Heraklion Cleaning Service is left with only a third of its original workforce.

April 2024 brought a sudden plot twist. Court rulings called time-out for dozens of contract workers—drivers, trash truck crews, and those heroic street sweepers. Their contracts, dating back to 2015 and always stuck on repeat, finally got shredded by law. Add in retirements and a backlog of unused vacation days, and the city’s cleaning squad went from busy to practically invisible.

The remaining team now plays a constant game of catch-up, forced to juggle routes and duties, sometimes missing more bins than they empty. Consider it a big win if a few garbage trucks roll down your street.

Waiting for Reinforcements, the City Hall Chases Shadows

The Mayor of Heraklion, Alexis Kalokairinos, and the city council channelled their inner bureaucrats, fast-tracking paperwork for 87 new positions. That means more drivers, more helpers, and a crowd of new sweepers awaiting arrival. Of course, hiring rules in Greece mean this will not happen overnight—applications, objections, committees, and so many stamps. So far, the hiring is still circling in the Department of Eternal Delays.

In the meantime, desperate measures prevailed. The city shuffled drivers and general staff from other departments into cleaning trucks. They even recruited heavy machinery to help with mattress mountains and sofa jungles, hoping to keep the most visible mess off the streets.

April saw one small win—a few sweepers traded their brooms for a seat on the back of a garbage truck. The rest of the time, the service limps along, covering what it can with the people available.

Tourists: What You Need to Know (Sadly, Yes, Just Throwing Away Trash Got Complicated)

Welcome to Heraklion, where garbage collection is now an extreme sport. The city asks everyone—locals and, yes, you, dear visitors—to play along and keep chaos from turning into disaster. Some basic rules, easy to follow if you ignore the irony:

• Only toss the trash in bins at night, using tightly sealed bags.
• If your neighborhood bin overflows, wander to the next one—shopping bags in hand, tourist style.
• Got a giant suitcase to dump? No—use the free bulky waste services by calling 2813409660, Monday to Friday, from 08:00 to 14:00, or take your old furniture to the city’s transfer station. That’s behind the city garage in Nea Alikarnassos, open most mornings except Sundays.
• Don’t pile random junk on sidewalks. No one likes street art that smells.

Feeling generous? The mayor would love your sympathy, preferably through patience and common sense. He knows things are rough. Staff is stretched, tempers are frayed, and everyone wants a clean city, including you, even if it takes longer than anyone hoped.

The Truth, The Half-Truths, and the Myths

• Some blame City Hall for firing workers. In reality, the courts told those workers their contracts were over. The city just followed orders.
• City leaders didn’t abandon workers. They backed them in court, signed documents, and wrote memos, but it didn’t change the outcome.
• Workers did rack up lots—and we mean LOTS—of time off. When workers had to leave, every unclaimed day came due, leaving fewer to do the job.
• A new plan is coming. Really. Some day. They’re working on it. (Don’t hold your breath.)

Heraklion’s Cleaning Service sits at the crossroads of legal drama, paperwork, and old-fashioned mismanagement. The tourists of 2025 might find that, in this city, the only thing piling up faster than souvenirs is the trash. At least now, you know why. Smile for the selfies—just pose upwind.