Polyeco’s Giannis Karakolis speaks to Agrocapital about hazardous waste, ESG, innovation, agriculture and the transition to the circular economy.
Interview by Giorgos Bakolas
Giannis Karakolis of Polyeco speaks to Giorgos Bakolas about the difficult side of sustainability, where hazardous waste becomes a matter of science, responsibility and public trust.
The management of hazardous waste is one of the most heavily regulated, scientifically demanding and operationally critical sectors of the modern economy. In this field, Polyeco has evolved over the course of three decades from a Greek technical initiative into an international provider of integrated solutions for the management, transport and recovery of hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
With a presence in more than 30 countries, participation in over 100 complex projects and the management of hundreds of thousands of tons of waste, the company now stands at the center of a global debate linking environmental safety, industrial responsibility and the sustainability of production.
Giannis Karakolis, Director of Polyeco Northern Greece and a chemical engineer from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with postgraduate studies in Economics at Imperial College, Leadership at Harvard and Strategic Negotiations at INSEAD, speaks to Agrocapital about responsibility, expertise and the new era of the circular economy.
Polyeco began as a purely Greek company and developed into an international player in one of the most demanding sectors worldwide. Was there a specific moment when you realized that hazardous waste management was not merely a business activity, but a matter of public responsibility?
Hazardous waste management, globally, is the responsibility of the producer, whether that producer is a company or a public or private organization. The producer bears the legal and financial responsibility for the safe collection, storage, transport and final disposal or recovery of its waste.
In Greece, as in the European Union, this management must be carried out in full compliance with national and European legislation, mainly through licensed partners and on the basis of the “polluter pays” principle. For us at Polyeco, this means that every project is not treated simply as a technical service, but as part of a broader environmental responsibility. Our company manages hazardous waste in strict compliance with the law and contributes to sound environmental management.
The term sustainability is often used as a general slogan. How do you personally define it in a sector that manages the residues of industrial development, rather than easy green projects?
In our sector, sustainability cannot be a slogan. It is practice, method and result. Sustainable waste management aims at reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery, shifting the model from a linear economy to a circular one.
This means that waste is not treated exclusively as a problem, but as a potential resource. Through practices such as its use in the domestic cement industry and the reduction of the carbon footprint, environmental risks are limited, ecosystems are protected and business sustainability is strengthened. Real sustainability begins where environmental protection meets technical reliability and economic resilience.
The decontamination project in Lavrio has been described by many as one of the most complex environmental undertakings in Europe. How does a private company manage the weight of responsibility when there is no second chance for error?
In a project such as the Konofagos Building, responsibility is not treated as a general principle, but as a daily technical, scientific and ethical obligation. We were dealing with a protected monument of modern industrial architecture, with serious structural damage and an exceptionally high pollution load from arsenic, lead and cadmium.
Every decision had to serve three objectives at once: the safety of workers, the protection of the environment and the preservation of the building’s historic character. Managing such responsibility begins with planning. One cannot enter such a project with generic or empirical solutions. Studies come first, followed by risk assessment, phased organization of the works, temporary structural support, full containment of critical zones and strict decontamination protocols.
The principle was to leave nothing to chance. From the packaging of hazardous waste and its transfer to a specially prepared area, to air monitoring, the use of HEPA filters, personal protective equipment and weekly analyses for workers, everything had to be documented and controlled.
In projects of this kind, Polyeco does not operate simply as a contractor. It operates as a body of expertise, a risk manager and a guarantor that the final result will be technically sound and socially acceptable.
In projects involving highly toxic substances such as arsenic, where is the point at which business logic stops and scientific documentation fully determines the decision?
In projects of such high risk, scientific documentation is not merely one stage of the decision. It is the very framework within which every decision is made. Business logic exists, in the sense of organization, efficiency, adherence to timetables and resource management. But it can never come before safety and the scientific assessment of risk.
At the Konofagos Building, the presence of arsenic, lead and cadmium, combined with other heavy metals, allowed no simplifications. Deposits inside the chambers, contaminated sacks and barrels, the need to scrape masonry surfaces and the prevention of dust dispersion required fully controlled working conditions.
The critical point comes when risk ceases to be theoretical and becomes measurable. At that point, the decision is not made by cost, convenience or speed. It is made by measurements, exposure limits, technical specifications, legislation and the experience of specialists. In such projects, the correct business decision is precisely the one that accepts that science has the first and last word.
Integrity is a concept often heard in abstract terms in business language. In your sector, how is it measured in practice and when is it truly tested?
In the waste management sector, integrity is measured in practice through environmental integrity. It is not a theoretical concept. It is linked to the protection of the subsoil, the prevention of leaks, the safeguarding of the aquifer and the proper recovery of waste.
For Polyeco, integrity means that management is carried out in a way that does not degrade the structural and chemical condition of the soil and does not create secondary risks. It also means that hazardous waste can, under strict conditions, be recovered for the production of alternative fuel or alternative raw materials, reducing its chemical hazard and limiting the use of primary fuels and raw materials.
Integrity is truly tested when cost or time pressure could lead to compromises. That is where it becomes clear whether a company merely follows the law or has internalized its responsibility toward the environment and society.
You say that innovation is a driving force for Polyeco. Is it mainly a matter of technology, or does it relate more to methodology, protocols and decision-making under high-risk conditions?
Innovation in waste management is not limited to technology. It is at once technology, methodology, protocol and a way of making decisions. Today, the major shift is the treatment of waste not only as an environmental problem, but as a resource that can be integrated into the circular economy.
This is reflected in energy recovery, co-incineration and the conversion of solid waste into energy with lower environmental impacts. It is also reflected in green technologies for the treatment of liquid waste and in the production of alternative liquid fuels for the domestic cement industry. At the same time, digitalization allows better monitoring, optimization and control of waste management, especially in industry and in the direction of zero waste.
For us, innovation is not a display of technology. It is the ability to make the right decisions under complex, high-risk conditions.
How difficult is it for a Greek company to convince governments and international organizations that it can manage the problem everyone wants to make disappear?
It was certainly difficult, especially in the early years of our international activity. Hazardous waste management abroad is a high-risk sector, one in which governments and international organizations usually place their trust in a small number of companies with a proven track record.
For a Greek company, at a time when the country was going through a deep economic crisis and had no tradition of exporting this kind of expertise, initial caution was expected. In this sector, however, trust is not won through presentations or promises. It is won in the field.
Project by project, through strict adherence to specifications, scientific documentation, transparency, safety and, above all, through the final result, our partners began to recognize the quality, effectiveness and consistency of our work.
Today, we have successfully completed more than 100 projects abroad, in cooperation with governments, development agencies and international organizations, including bodies within the United Nations system, such as the FAO, UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP and UNOPS, as well as the World Bank. This shows that a Greek company can stand as an equal in the international environment and offer reliable, scientifically documented solutions.
Collaborations such as the one with the National Technical University of Athens point to a different model of partnership between science and the market. Do you believe this model can become a structural feature of the Greek economy, or does it remain an exception?
The collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens on the Konofagos project shows that the partnership between science and the market is not a theoretical construct. It can produce real solutions to problems of high complexity, precisely where neither side is sufficient on its own.
The NTUA brought institutional memory, scientific knowledge and responsibility for the preservation of an important industrial monument. Polyeco brought operational experience, expertise in hazardous waste management and the ability to implement complex solutions in the field.
This model can and should become a structural feature of the Greek economy. Greece has a significant industrial, mining and environmental heritage, strong universities, specialized scientists and companies with international experience. When these elements are connected through serious planning, institutional consistency and clear roles, they can create projects of real added value.
Waste management is now at the core of ESG criteria. How do you respond to investors who approach the environment only through indicators, rather than through real operational and social risk?
For us at Polyeco, ESG indicators are not simply numbers. They are the result of our own operation. Every indicator we present is documented and derives from specific processes, controls and investments that we apply daily in waste management.
When we speak with investors who focus mainly on metrics, we make sure to show them what lies behind those numbers: the real practices, the control systems, the risk management and the operational maturity. In our sector, environmental and social risks are immediate, which means that indicators cannot be a communications tool. They must be a reliable reflection of reality.
Put simply, we do not operate in order to achieve indicators. The indicators are the natural result of sound, safe and responsible operation.
You argue that Polyeco invests in the domestic economy. In your view, what is the greatest misconception about the relationship between environmental protection and competitiveness?
The greatest misconception is that environmental protection and competitiveness are in conflict. This is an old perception, one that no longer corresponds to the needs of the modern economy.
Today, environmental responsibility can function as a competitive advantage. The adoption of green practices can reduce production costs through the saving of resources and energy. Strict environmental regulations can push companies toward innovation, improve their processes and strengthen the quality of their products and services.
Environmental protection is not an obstacle to business activity. It is a prerequisite for long-term competitiveness, especially in an economy where markets, investors and societies now demand documented responsibility.
Looking ahead, what do you consider the greatest challenge for the waste management sector: regulation, technology or social acceptance?
The greatest challenge is the transition from traditional waste management to the circular economy. This means that it is no longer enough to talk only about landfill or incineration. We must talk about waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and resource utilization.
Within the framework of the European Union and Greece, the period from 2025 to 2035 will be critical. Targets for higher recycling rates, the management of special waste streams, such as composite plastics or waste from renewable energy sources, and the need to modernize infrastructure require new investment, technology and social acceptance.
Regulation, technology and social acceptance are not three separate challenges. They are three sides of the same transition. Without rules there is no trust, without technology there is no solution and without social acceptance there is no continuity.
Agriculture is now at the center of the sustainability debate, not only as a producer of food but as a manager of soil, water and residues. Based on your experience, what is the environmental risk most underestimated today in the agricultural sector, and how can proper waste management be transformed from a cost into a tool of resilience?
The environmental risk most underestimated today in the agricultural sector is soil degradation. It is often overshadowed by more immediately visible phenomena, such as the improper management of contaminated packaging from pesticides or other chemical substances.
Residues of pesticides, chemicals, oils, paints or other hazardous substances from contaminated packaging can leak into the soil and, through rainfall, reach aquifers, rivers, lakes and seas. This is not merely an environmental issue. It is an issue of productive resilience, water quality, food safety and the protection of agricultural land.
Proper waste management can be transformed from a cost into a tool of resilience when it is integrated into the overall planning of agricultural production. Polyeco offers solutions for such waste streams and cooperates with municipalities, with the aim of collecting hazardous waste and preventing pollution in aquifers, rivers and lakes.
If you had to summarize in one sentence what Polyeco leaves behind in every project it completes, what would it be?
I would say that Polyeco leaves behind a legacy in every environmental project it completes. And that legacy is not an abstract concept. It is the imprint of an approach to sustainable development, in which the final result is not simply a technical project, but a lasting positive impact on the environment and society.
That legacy may be a safe infrastructure, a decontaminated area, the protection of a historic or cultural monument, as in the Konofagos project, or the expertise that remains behind and can be used in future projects. The goal is not only to remove an environmental problem. It is to leave behind a place that is safer, more functional and more resilient.
Polyeco, since its founding in 2001, has held a leading position in the field of environmental management in Greece and Southeastern Europe. It specializes in the management of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, providing innovative and sustainable solutions that transform waste into valuable secondary raw materials for industrial production.