Filenews 26 June 2023 - by Angelos Nicolaou
Cyprus is behind in all targets in terms of municipal waste management and recycling, something that is of particular concern to the European Commission, which observes that our country is staying in the radar.
Essentially, based on the analysis of collected data and existing policies in the field of waste management, Cyprus is considered at risk of not achieving the target of preparing for re-use and recycling 55% of municipal waste by 2025. It is also at risk of failing to meet the target of recycling 65% of packaging waste by 2025. Furthermore, the distance from the target of landfilling 10% of municipal waste by 2035 is also a cause for concern.
In particular, according to the Commission's report, the Republic of Cyprus is among the 18 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden) that are at risk of failing to meet the target of preparing for re-use and recycling 55% of municipal waste by 2025.
Furthermore, Cyprus is among the 10 Member States (Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) that are at risk of not achieving the target of recycling 65% of packaging waste by 2025, presenting particular difficulty in recycling plastic, glass and aluminium. Finally, Cyprus is also among the 13 Member States (Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) that are still far from the target of limiting the landfilling of municipal waste to a maximum of 10% by the year 2035.
The early warning report for Cyprus, which was transmitted to the Cypriot authorities on 8/6/2023, in addition to the key findings, includes a number of recommendations, as well as a summary of good practices already implemented in Cyprus, as well as an overview of possible actions to improve Cyprus' waste management performance.
In particular, in the data recorded by Brussels in the report on Cyprus, it is suspected by the Commission that the competent authorities of the Republic communicate contradictory data, which is recorded in this report. Official figures show that Cyprus produces much larger quantities of waste overall than the European average, but less than half of packaging waste.
Municipal waste generation in Cyprus (648 kg per person) was much higher than the EU average (502 kg per person) in 2019, which may be due to high tourist activity. On the other hand, packaging waste generated in 2019 was about half of the EU average (92kg per person vs 177kg per person).
"This seemingly low number may indicate that significant quantities of packaging placed on the market, considered as the amount of packaging waste generated, are not reported," the Commission said. In addition, a significant proportion of municipal waste generated is not recorded in terms of treatment (17% in 2019). This is mainly due to temporary storage and losses during mechanical-biological treatment processes. However, this may also indicate direct landfilling in irregular or substandard facilities.
In 2020, the municipal waste recycling rate reported by Cyprus was 16.8% (which is 38% below the 55% target for 2025) and the landfill rate was 67% (about three times the EU average). General trends in waste management are also a concern: The recycling rate stagnated over the period 2016-2020 (around 16%) and the landfill rate decreased slightly (by around 9% between 2016 and 2020).
Very low composting and digestion rates are considered a key reason for this performance. The current capacity for separate collection and treatment of bio-waste is insufficient for the total amount of bio-waste generated in Cyprus. The amount of municipal waste sent to landfill also remains too high.
In 2019, the recycling rate for all packaging reached 66.8%, which exceeds the target for 2025 (65%). However, there are issues related to the quality of data on packaging.
For example, there is a marked discrepancy between the low recycling rate of municipal waste and the high recycling rates of packaging waste. Data sets on municipal and packaging waste appear incompatible as a large part of packaging waste is generated by households and therefore part of municipal waste. In 2020, the recycling rate for all packaging waste decreased to 59.9%.
The main challenges facing the country
Cyprus has recently adopted measures to reverse the situation and achieve the above-mentioned objectives. However, this has not yet led to measurable results and efforts need to be significantly intensified to meet all 2025 targets. Significant improvements are needed to align waste management in Cyprus with the EU waste hierarchy. According to the early warning report, some of the main challenges facing the country in waste management are:
● Over-reliance on landfill and no landfill tax;
● Insufficient infrastructure and systems for separate collection and treatment of bio-waste, including low quality of compost and lack of a dedicated quality management system;
● Data quality issues related to packaging waste generated.
Key recommendations for Cyprus
Among the measures deemed necessary to support Cyprus' efforts to improve its waste management performance, the main recommendations are listed.
1. Support preparation for re-use of municipal waste and packaging reuse systems.
2. Extend separate collection at source across the country (in particular for bio-waste) and improve public awareness of waste sorting and waste prevention. The country should implement economic instruments such as pay-as-you-throw schemes and introduce a landfill tax to incentivise separate collection and minimise waste going to landfill.
3. Further develop waste treatment infrastructure linked to the higher stages of the waste hierarchy (in particular, by strengthening bio-waste treatment capacity and supporting home composting) and set national quality standards for compost/digestate from bio-waste.
4. Cyprus should improve its data management system to present coherent and verifiable data sets (in particular on packaging waste).
INTERVENTION
Brussels is worried, we are sure
The Commission's early warning report on Cyprus sets out priority actions to comply with recycling targets for 2025 and reduce landfilling for 2035.
The Commission is concerned that the Republic of Cyprus will not meet the targets. We are not worried, we are sure that the objectives are unattainable no matter what measures are taken. All these existing problems could be better pursued by the creation of a Deputy Ministry of the Environment, whose portfolio includes about 50% of the acquis communautaire, i.e. all EU directives and regulations. A Deputy Ministry that could better focus on environmental sectors with better results in implementing policies to improve performance in waste management to avoid possible fines.
