Filenews 21 March 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
Cyprus has been transformed into a vast garbage dump, particularly in the last year, amid travel restrictions due to the coronavirus, where illegal dumping and accumulation of waste is observed in scattered places.
This phenomenon is observed in steep or isolated areas, such as ravines, riverbeds and areas near the "dead zone". However, in some cases, the phenomenon occurs even on the outskirts of residential areas, such as in places around green spots. In many cases the problem is particularly acute, as pollution points develop into uncontrolled dumps, resulting in a significant deterioration of the natural environment in the region and risks to public health. Please note that the responsibility for cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness of an area lies with the local authority.
This is illegal waste disposal and environmental pollution resulting in serious public health risks. Rubble, furniture, plastics, metal objects, tires and even hazardous materials are now a common image in almost all neighbourhoods of Cyprus. Some points are visible from the roads, while others lead there through dirt roads. In addition to citizens who reject what they do not need at home, even pruning their garden on neighbouring plots instead of in the green spots of their provinces, and the professionals in the area movers dispose of excavation waste in fields so as not to pay the fee to licensed collectors. This is despite the fact that they receive significant costs from citizens and debater for their transfer to management units without it being implemented.
Offenders are subject to the provisions of the legislation, against which all relevant measures will be taken, out of court up to €4,000, criminal prosecution and withdrawal of the permit to transport waste. However, they are not intimidated and continue to be profitable to this day by illegal acts since citizens have paid the relevant fees for processing in properly licensed units and not rejected in illegal areas or former doghouses. To this end, a procedure for GPS placement in SKIP carriers is being promoted in order to prevent uncontrolled discharges of waste, especially during evening hours.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and environment, assessing the situation as described and in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Tourism and the Offices of the Commissioners for Environment and Volunteering, will proceed to the organization of a cleanliness campaign in Cyprus. The cleanliness campaign is scheduled to take place next April and will be divided into three pillars, as follows:
1) Cleaning
2) Control - Prevention
3) Information - Awareness.
With regard to the cleaning of existing pollution points:
(a) Pollution points will be recorded by the Ministry of the Interior, through the Local Government Authorities (ATA), by encoding the requested data in a relevant table.
b) Points will be ranked/categorized into:
- Signs of mild pollution that can be cleaned by volunteers. The Volunteer Commissioner will organise the whole effort, on the basis of a manual with the necessary instructions, to be prepared by the Department of the Environment.
- Signs of heavy pollution, the cleanliness of which requires the use of special equipment and vehicles.
It should be noted that all points will be prioritised as to the need for rehabilitation in order to intervene where it is considered more urgent to restore them.
c) The transfer of waste to areas within the boundaries of a Municipality will be undertaken by the respective Municipal Authority. In cases where pollution points are outside municipal boundaries, the transport of dogs will be able to undertake similar services, which have the necessary equipment.
(d) For each pollution point, the authorised plant to which the waste will be transported for management shall be determined. To this end, licensed units will be required to receive campaign waste for treatment at reduced prices as part of their social corporate responsibility.
(e) A cleaning programme will be drawn up to know when each pollution point will be cleaned. Licensed plants will know roughly how much waste they are expected to receive. Trucks carrying waste as part of the campaign will be properly marked/evidenced.
In relation to the control of pollution points after their restoration and the prevention of the re-disposal of waste, the following will be recruited:
(a) Inspectors of the Department of the Environment.
(b) ATA Inspectors, with information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment on a monthly basis on the fines issued.
c) Service executives who are often in the countryside, such as the Department of Forests, the Mining Service and the Hunting and Fauna Service. The persons involved will receive relevant training in how to act.
d) National Guard officers making complaints in cases where they notice illegal discharges.
(e) The Police.
(f) The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment will also proceed with the adoption of a Decree on the installation of a GPS system on SKIP carriers, once the legislative review of the Decree by the Legal Service and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been completed. It is estimated that the problem is largely due to uncontrolled discharges of waste from illegal SKIP carriers, especially during the evening hours.
(g) In addition, the installation of cameras at selected locations is considered. The matter is being investigated by the Commissioners for the Environment, Personal Data Protection and Legislation.
(h) Finally, all infringements will be notified for deterrence purposes.
With regard to information – public awareness of the issue, there will be coordinated joint action by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, the Ministry of Tourism and the Press and Information Office.
For both the pillar of the clean-up campaign and the control and deterrence pillar, special software will be prepared.
State assistance to fund the campaign
To finance the cleanliness campaign and restore the sites that will be prioritised, an amount of up to €1.1 million will be spent, which will come from savings from the Budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and its Departments. If necessary, up to 50% of €1.1m will be used to fund the project. will be covered by appropriations from the Ministry of Finance. It is appropriate to request the financial assistance of ATA, which will be required to cover 30 % of the amount corresponding to the management in licensed units of waste collected from sites within their administrative limits. It should be noted that, in any case, ATA is responsible for the restoration of these sites. However, it is expected that at least some ATA will request the financial assistance of the State.
Strict fines with out-of-court fines of up to €4,000
Heavy bells will fall on the outlaws. Under the provisions of the legislation, they will pay out-of-court fines starting at €200 for natural persons and €500 for companies that can reach up to €4000. , which was approved on Wednesday by the Council of Ministers, will accept the harshest of the penalties provided for. The Minister stressed that the government in such a case would be "relentless and rigorous." If they are professionals," he said, "we will go as far as abolishing the permit to transport waste. If he is a citizen he will receive the harshest sentences, while the most serious cases will be brought before the court."
The Minister had a meeting on Wednesday with Environment Commissioner Clelia Vassiliou and Commissioner for Volunteering and Non-Governmental Organisations, Giannis Giannakis. "We are taking the initiative to clean up Cyprus. By decision of the Council of Ministers, an amount of more than €1 million will be allocated to clean up the countryside, to clean up the areas where there is systematic rejection, to monitor this new situation and to confirm that it will not return to the situation we know today," said Mr Kadis.
The Minister pointed out that 'the situation in the countryside and around urban areas, in relation to the illegal dumping of rubbish, does not honour anyone and does not honour us as a civilised society'. As he said, 'the problem is constantly being made more difficult, while the environment and public health are being burdened', to note that the State could not remain uninvolved in this situation. He called on all citizens to help clean up the place and clean up the living space. Mr. Kadis said that this effort will be developed in cooperation with the Ministries of Agriculture and Interior, but also with the assistance of the Commissioners of Volunteering and Environment, the Ministry of Tourism and other government agencies. He also said that this effort is expected to evolve in April, noting that "it will aim to clean up the areas, to be indicated by the Local Government Authorities, as areas where there is a strong pollution problem and the garbage will be transferred for management to licensed waste management units."
Costs to the environment must be eliminated
Environment Commissioner Clelia Vassiliou said the situation "not only does not honour us, but also offends us." This whole conversation is about our common home and what we have to do is keep our house clean," he said. He said that many cases are recorded every day, adding that the situation has reached the point of departure. He stressed that the move that is being made today is necessary, noting that efforts are being made to address some issues relating to the prevention of the recurrence of such cases." As the Minister has rightly said, the harshest penalties will be imposed on those caught polluting the environment, but there are too many cases that are not substantiated and all these cases create costs for the Republic, for the environment and from then on all these costs must be reduced and the phenomenon must be eliminated," he said.
The Commissioner for Volunteering, Giannis Giannakis, stressed that civil society plays a role in the success of any project. He noted that "each of us should try to help keep the environment of Cyprus clean, but also be a point of deterrence, denouncing those who pollute the environment". "Let us become green active citizens, let us become protectors of the environment," he said. He went on to say that volunteering will once again highlight its value, adding that at points indicated by the competent Ministry - and the area is burdened with dumps - the volunteers will be organized into groups in a communication issued by his office and coordinated by the competent services in order to clean up the burdened areas.
