Waste Management in Cyprus

@Cheryl

It will be interesting to see how this goes down ... Pay as you throw .

https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/local/p … opulation/

Coming from the UK, just over a year ago, I was appalled to see the level of single use plastic in Cyprus. In the UK I had to separate glass, plastic, food and paper/card into separate bins for bi-weekly collection. There was a general waste bin collected once a week. If you were caught with the wrong thing in  a bin there was the chance of a fine. No idea how much as I never mixed the waste. There were issue with the food waste only collected biweekly in the summer with fly's. Paper bags had been introduced in the supermarkets for fruit and veg and most people purchased a strong plastic bag made from recycled plastic to take each time to the shop. If you had no bag there were some to purchase for a higher fee. If the re-usable plastic bag broke the supermarket replaced it free of charge.

In Cyprus the fruit and veg plastic  bag usage is way too much and is going to be a challenge to replace with paper or reusable nylon bags. I often wonder where all the waste goes on a small island.

Water waste seems an issue as well and all the time I see major water leaks when driving around. Probably one per day. In Tala we have no water on a regular basis and I wonder if that is a way to conserve water.

There seems to be a general lack of interest in Cyprus for the environment as I see very little use of PV panels or water buts to gather water for the garden in dryer months. I presume the electricity company would not be happy if we all generated our own. In the UK I had PV panels for 10 years and if I had stayed I would have added a battery. It generated between 2200 and 2500 per year and that was in grey blighty. Here I would expect to use no electricity if I had panels and a battery.

I have not seen bins for spent batteries in shops like there are in the UK either.

When I took up residence in Tala I had to go to the council web site to find out when the waste was collected and how to split it.

We all have to take responsibility for house waste and the minimization of it. How long does it take to separate into bags? It would be better if the council supplied plastic bins so we could cut down on the plastic bags to separate the waste into as well. I had a coloured bin overload in the UK lol

Ive seen battery pods for collection in a few shops in Paphos and Definitely in Phillipos at Coral Bay .. we also have waste oil containers too nr the school ..can collection points for a named charity name Cans for Kids in Peyia and Coral Bay.

But generally Phils observations are bang on . 

I foresee a big problem coming as

A) most won't pay for the bags at the price point levels quoted in the Pay as you Throw scheme due to take effect in July and for 67% compleuon island wide implementation by end of year.

B) many households and especially in apartment complexes they dont have the space for multiple bins and bags to. Store the separate wastes..  we currently have an issue in our complex where local residents dump their waste in the car park gardens .. despite there being two massive green bins at the exits and entry points no matter which way they exit or enter...

C) it's not going to stop fly tipping and dumping of larger plastic consumer goods, dryers sunbeds garden tables and chairs.... In Peyia we have a large municipality tip not too far away in Akoursos and still it happens....

Cyprus is producing 673 kilogrammes of waste per inhabitant a year, making the island the 5th highest producer of municipal solid waste in the EU.

According to data released on Wednesday by the Statistical Service, the total quantity of municipal solid waste generated in Cyprus amounted to 615,000 tonnes in 2022, compared to 585,000 tonnes in 2021, marking an increase of approximately 5 per cent.

On average, this translates to 673kgs per inhabitant, the 5th highest producer in the EU.

On top of that, the Statistical Service added that of the 469,000 tonnes that underwent final disposal in 2022, 77.5 per cent was deposited in landfills, 17.2 per cent was forwarded for recycling, 3.1 per cent was used for energy recovery, and 2.2 per cent was composted.

The EU average for municipal waste production per inhabitant in 2022 was 513kgs.

Austria had the highest municipal waste production per inhabitant (835kgs), followed by Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium and Cyprus

Source

https://cyprus-mail.com/2024/02/22/cypr … roduction/

Almost two thirds of the Cyprus will be using the waste management scheme “Pay as you throw” by the end of the year, the environment department announced on Wednesday.

The department said the system is coming into effect on July 1, and six municipalities accounting for 30 per cent of the population are ready to finish their studies in March and will set prices for bags and bins.

The municipalities will also clarify how many dumpsters are needed.

Senior official at the Department of Environment Eleni Constantinidou told the Cyprus News Agency that these six municipalities are: Latsia municipality, Lakatamia municipality, Ayia Varvara, the southern Nicosia municipality, Aradippou municipality, Larnaca municipality, East Limassol municipality and Polemidia municipality.

According to the department, by June 2024 the Nicosia municipality, the western Limassol municipality, and the Limassol municipality are expected to complete their studies.

These areas account for 37 per cent of the population.

Another nine areas accounting for 21.5 per cent of the population are set to finish their studies in the summer or at the start of September, while another is expected to finish in November, which accounts for 11.15 per cent of the population.

Based on a presentation of a study done for the Aradippou municipality and the preliminary data, there is an estimate of 6 cents per litre on bags, i.e. a ten-litre bag will cost 60 cents, a 35-litre bag €2, and a 56-litre bag €3.33..

Source

https://cyprusmail.com/2024/02/21/two-t … years-end/