Greek army trucks help clear trash in Thessaloniki

The Greek army is helping clear mounds of trash from the streets of Thessaloniki, after maintenance problems put most municipal garbage trucks out of action.
Municipal officials say 14 army trucks joined the effort Friday to remove up to 2,000 tons of uncollected rubbish from the northern port city.
Deputy mayor Stathis Avramidis said city authorities had to ask for the defence ministry's
assistance as they lacked enough vehicles to do the job.
Some 50 of the 73 municipal garbage trucks are out of action due to a lack of spare parts and the age of the fleet, which means many of the vehicles cannot be repaired.
Greece is in the midst of a debt crisis, and just avoided bankruptcy last year through a €110 billion ($148 billion) foreign loan package.



source: The Associated Press, thecanadianpress.com