A plant to manufacture reverse vending machines in Greece by US-based Envipco was inaugurated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday morning in Pallini, northeast of Athens.

The nearly-10-million-euro investment will create 60 jobs immediately, Mitsotakis said, and another 230 jobs in the next five years, not counting intangible benefits. This is the result of methodical work by the government “to make Greece a preferred investment destination again,” the prime minister said.

Mitsotakis also said that by allowing local governments to take initiatives, the state let go of its control and encouraged Private Public Partnerships in managing household waste based on local needs. He said the first 100 reverse vending machines would be located in five municipalities: Kallithea and Nea Smyrni in Attica, Ioannina, Nafplio and Andros island.

A video message by basketball phenomenon Giannis Antetokounmpo was screened at the event, encouraging recycling. Antetonkounmpo is the ambassador of the new Greek campaign for deposit return recycling in Greece.

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said both Greece and the United States “are working to develop a circular economy, where the goal is to minimize waste by maximizing the recovery and reuse of materials.” Envipco, he said, “is a world leader in the manufacturing and development of automated recycling machines,” and with Texan will assemble the machines in Greece using parts imported from the US.

The plant in Greece is “the first Envipco manufacturing plant outside of the United States – an 8.5 million dollar investment that, from the beginning, will create 60 new jobs in Greece, whose aim is to cover the recycling machinery needs of the Greek and European markets,” Pyatt said.

He added, “As a resident of Athens who has traveled widely in this beautiful country, I fully support Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ and his government’s efforts to preserve Greece’s unique cultural and environmental heritage by protecting the environment and reducing waste.”