Filenews 11 September 2024
Over 800 illegal landfills and piles of waste were identified in municipalities of Cyprus between April and July 2024 with the pilot implementation of the DumpMapper service. The agency used satellite imagery and artificial intelligence techniques.
In an announcement by PERIOPSIS, which is a spin-off of the CYENS Centre of Excellence, it is stated that the aim of the pilot was to address the growing problem of illegal discharges, which is a perennial problem for almost all municipalities in Cyprus. For this purpose, the company made the DumpMapper service available to the competent authorities of the Municipalities of Nicosia, Larnaka, Lakatamia, Paphos, Ypsonas and Livadia in order to identify and monitor new discharge points within their administrative boundaries. The service also provided an online platform that allowed the management and coordination of the cleaning process by the relevant departments and their staff.
A total of 820 dumping incidents were identified, ranging from piles of garbage of less than one square meter to larger landfills with a volume exceeding 10 square meters.
According to the data collected by the application, the highest frequency of illegal landfills was found in municipalities with a larger geographical area and less frequent construction/habitation, such as Ypsonas and Lakatamia, indicating the increasing cleaning needs in these municipalities. In addition, a significant amount of waste was found near public roads, while in larger municipalities several smaller volumes of garbage were observed near roads and dead ends.
"The completion of this pilot project marks an important milestone in the fight against illegal dumping of garbage and rubbish in Cyprus," the statement said. The pilot project provided important findings, which can be further used to inform the municipal waste management strategy, taking into account the specific needs of municipalities and communities in Cyprus. As noted, this is a global innovation that is an excellent example of cooperation between local public bodies and the private sector, using emerging technologies to solve an important problem for Cyprus and many other countries.
"For PERIOPSIS, the successful completion of the pilot is an important step in expanding its DumpMapper service abroad, starting with municipalities in Greece and India, which have expressed their interest in using the service, also on a pilot basis for starters," the statement said.
CNA
