Psyttaleia ( el, Ψυττάλεια) is an unpopulated and uninhabited island in the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf (Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Co ...

between the harbor of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

and the Kynosoura peninsula on

Salamis Island Salamis ( ; el, Σαλαμίνα, Salamína; grc, label=Ancient and Katharevousa, Σαλαμίς, Salamís) is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about off-coast from Piraeus and about west of central Athens. The chief city, Sala ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It covers an area of 0.375 square kilometers. The island houses Athens' largest

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

planthttps://www.eydap.gr/userfiles/c3c4382d-a658-4d79-b9e2-ecff7ddd9b76/Fact-sheet-PWWTP.pdf which also the largest in Europe,Athens Stock Exchange
, ''Elliniki Technodomiki TEB AE'', Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
, ''Environmental protection works'', Retrieved on 2007-06-08. with a projected daily maximum drying capacity of 750 tons of sewage.
, ''Karamanlis in Psyttaleia'', Retrieved on 2007-06-08 Administratively it is part of the

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

History

In 480 BC, before the naval

battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

, the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ns installed in the island a garrison of soldiers and noblemen. After the Greek victory, the Persian fleet retreated towards

Phaleron Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').'' The ...

and the guard was abandoned.

Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remember ...

, the Athenian

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

(general), landed on the island and executed all the Persians. From the Middle Ages until recently the island was called ''Lipsokoutali'' (Λειψοκουτάλι - lit. ''half-spoon'') because it resembled a half-spoon when seen from the Aegaleo mountain. Ancient Psyttaleia has long been identified with modern Lipsokoutali, though some scholars proposed Agios Georgios instead; the consensus remains with Lipsokoutali. In modern history, the island was briefly transformed into a naval prison, in accordance with the French model of the time, as well as place of exile for political dissidents.

Sewage treatment plant

Since the 1990s, the

was starting to become polluted by industrial and residential sewage from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. In order to protect the ecosystem and due to considerations for negative implications on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, a

plant was installed on the island which started operation on November 1994.EYDAP AE
, ''Psyttaleia Sewage Plant'', Retrieved on 2007-06-08 This included the

primary treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

, which prevents the waste from entering the sea, but did not provide a permanent solution for the resulting sludge. Temporary solutions of exporting the sludge and of neutralizing it through oxidization proved insufficient over the years. On June 1, 2007, the sludge treatment plant was put into operation, with two production lines of a total waste drying capacity of 500 tons per day. Another two production lines started operation a month later, raising the total capacity to more than 750 tons per day. It is estimated that the remaining sludge of 150,000 to 160,000 tons that was accumulated on the island over the years when only the primary treatment was active, would be converted to

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

in the first six months of operation, and used in industry, especially in cement kilns and electricity power plants.Ethnos
''Psyttaleia "breathes"'', Retrieved on 2007-06-08 On October 5, 2007, environment vice-minister Themistoklis Xanthopoulos announced that there would be no sludge left in the following five months, and that auditors such as the

European Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...

had approved the quality of the plant.Skai News
, "Ούτε 1 κιλό λυματολάσπης στην Ψυττάλεια" (''"Not a kilo of sludge in Psyttaleia"''), Retrieved on 2007-10-05.

Other structures and services

In the northeastern part of the island, which is not occupied by the sewage treatment plant, there is a lighthouse and a station of the

Hellenic Coast Guard The Hellenic Coast Guard ( el, Λιμενικό Σώμα-Ελληνική Ακτοφυλακή, Limeniko Soma-Elliniki Aktofylaki, Port Corps-Hellenic Coast Guard) is the national coast guard of Greece. Like many other coast guards, it is a par ...

Vessel Traffic Service system.

References

External links

Official website of Municipality of Piraeus
{{The Saronic Landforms of Piraeus (regional unit) Islands of Attica Islands of Greece Saronic Islands Ports and harbours of Greece Economy of Athens Sewage treatment plants Water supply and sanitation in Greece Battle of Salamis Uninhabited islands of Greece