Cyprus Mail 20 February 2022 - by Paul Lambis
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| CFC Members with one of their modern waste management trucks [Christos Theodorides] |
A Limassol-based organisation, armed with all the right equipment and work ethic, is leading the way in creating a waste-management infrastructure
As a non-governmental organisation dedicated to keeping our cities and neighbourhoods clean, the newly founded City Friends Club has been actively involved in various activities and initiatives in Cyprus, working closely with businesses, communities and schools, raising awareness about recycling and waste disposal.
“Our mission is to introduce and support efficient waste collection infrastructure in Limassol and its surroundings, to encourage eco-friendly practices, and to reduce future waste pollution in Cyprus,” says the organisation’s founder, Anna Gubareva. “We are constructing a waste-collection infrastructure that we believe is desperately needed in Cyprus.”
Russian-born Anna Gubareva has been a resident of Cyprus for over two decades, utilising her skills as a professional art therapist, integrating the fields of human development, visual arts, and the creative process with models of counselling and psychotherapy through her work.
“For the past four years, I have primarily focused on human ecology and the importance of interacting with our own environment,” Anna told the Cyprus Mail. “A clean environment is essential for living a healthy lifestyle.”
According to Anna, a fresh and healthy environment is vital for conducting business, creating wealth, and most significantly for human presence. “The importance of a clean environment inspired me to create a hub where people and organisations could meet and collaborate on making a bigger impact that will help create an eco-friendly future, while also adopting smarter solutions that help reduce waste within the community.”
The strategy of the City Friends Club does not rely solely on businesses, communities and individuals assisting with various clean-up campaigns. The organisation’s key objective is to raise environmental consciousness through education.
“We would like to empower learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to address the interconnected global challenges we are currently facing, including climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, poverty and inequality,” Anna says. “We have designed programmes that are transformative, which allow individuals to make informed decisions and take action, to change our societies, and care for our planet.”
Anna’s strong emphasis on education stems from having her own children, and the healthy environment she hopes to leave behind for future generations. She wholeheartedly believes that parents play a critical role in providing a fun learning environment for children, instilling basic universal values as early as possible, including responsibility for one’s waste production. “When children begin to implement waste handling practices taught to them by their parents on a daily basis, those practices will become second nature to them,” Anna claims.
Recognising that plastic pollution in oceans and other bodies of water is increasing rapidly and may more than double by 2030, City Friends Club has also launched several programmes through their social media platforms to promote pro-environmental behaviours related to plastic use, particularly on how recycling can promote responsible consumerism.
Anna, like all business-minded people, has invested heavily in her organisation and its equipment, which will improve City Friends Club’s productivity, efficiency and future growth, as well as assist her in achieving her goals of a cleaner and safer Cyprus for both locals and visitors.
“Our modern waste management trucks have a compactor that crushes and compacts waste,” Anna explains. “We have all of the necessary tools for collecting rubbish on a daily basis from the streets and other difficult-to-reach areas.”
When Anna’s trucks pick up the waste, they transport it to the City Friends Club transfer station, where it is separated into plastic, aluminium and other recyclable materials; a small portion of the waste is then sent to a solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill.
Since marketing tools are an essential part to any business as a means of communication to inform the public of City Friends Club’s products and services, Anna and her team of eco-activists are currently working on their website, building a library of knowledge that will create awareness effectively throughout Cyprus, educating local communities on the importance of sustainable consumption and production.
“A vast majority of Cypriots are interested in learning more about humanity’s impact on the environment and what they can do to live a more sustainable lifestyle.”
When it comes to Gen Zs, Anna has recognised the importance of a mascot, not only as a symbol of luck, moreover a ‘humanised’ character that conveys company messages to its younger environmentalists. The friendly mascot, shaped like the letter “C,” reflects the organisation’s goals, which are centred on community, commitment, care and cleanliness for the city, and will play an important role in the club’s social media and digital content.
Surrounded by old buildings and factories, the industrial area in which City Friends Club is located will soon undergo rapid gentrification, transforming the area into a modern cultural and business hub of Limassol. Similarly, Anna and her team are excited to be a part of the island’s environmental transformation, lending a helping hand as a friendly neighbourhood city clean-up organisation, one that cares for Cyprus’ sustainable future.
