Filenews 5 December 2024 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment to combat illegal waste dumping was fully implemented.
The Ministry supported the local authorities in cleaning up illegal dumping sites, but, at the same time, declared zero tolerance for the continuation of the unacceptable and extra-institutional practice regarding the points where there is systematic dumping of garbage in the municipalities and communities of Cyprus.
The strict implementation and enforcement of the existing legislation is immediately underway, which, among other things, in addition to the violations that will be detected, the communities themselves will be monitored for the effective implementation of their responsibilities in this regard.
From a position made during the discussion in the parliamentary committee on the environment, it was mentioned that inspectors of the Department of Environment in cooperation with the Police will carry out inspections for the implementation and enforcement of the legislation.
More than 100 local authorities received support for the cleaning of more than 250 points throughout Cyprus.
At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture is already launching the expansion of the network of green points so that there are options for the citizen to dispose of special waste streams such as bulky ones, mattresses, etc.
The above efforts are part of the completion of the network of facilities for the treatment of mixed municipal waste and separately collected waste.
Presenting the plan, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panayiotou, said that in 2029 the operation of the new upgraded treatment units of mixed and separately collected waste OEDA Koshi and Pentakomo begins.
Referring to the challenges facing the Ministry according to the Municipal Waste Management Plan 2022 – 2028, Maria Panayiotou emphasized the long-term, medium and immediate actions, underlined that the targets to be achieved concern the separate collection of organic waste, the increase of preparation for re-use and recycling of municipal waste to 55% by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035, reducing waste going to landfill to 10% by 2035, ensuring that only treated waste is landfilled and establishing an integrated network of waste management facilities.
In relation to the Koshi OEDA unit serving the districts of Nicosia, Larnaka and Famagusta, the Minister said that the unit is operating normally with the exception of the need to replace its equipment and the quantities going to landfill which are estimated to be absorbed by the implementation of the "Pay as You Throw" (PDO) application.
He noted that the capacity of the unit is 190,000 tons / year, while as he said it is in its 14th year of operation, with the mechanical equipment having exceeded its expected performance time.
In relation to the Pentakomo OEDA unit serving the Limassol district, it was stressed that the main problem is the poor operational condition of the equipment.
Mrs. Panayiotou referred in particular to the difficult situation in which the plant in Pentakomo was when it was received by the Water Development Department (WDD) after the termination of the contract with the contractor who managed it.
Indicatively, he said that as of December 19, 2023, when he took over the WDD, 90 contracts had to be made in order for the unit to be able to operate, at a cost of €1.2 million.
For the Pafos landfill, it was mentioned that the main problem is waste management through direct landfill without treatment.
The Minister stressed that it was deemed necessary after discussion with the Jaspers team (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions) as the first and necessary step before any actions, the preparation of a feasibility – viability study.
Among other things, the study will examine the degree of response of the existing infrastructure to the data of Cyprus and the need to upgrade them for the treatment of mixed and separately collected waste of all districts.
Furthermore, the need for the construction of new infrastructure per district was stressed, as well as the energy utilization of residues after waste treatment.
The Ministry of Agriculture is taking immediate action to complete the network of facilities for the treatment of mixed municipal waste and separately collected waste.
For the Koshi OEDA unit, the processing of organics from source sorting is progressing.
Furthermore, the case is examined whether RDF (alternative fuel) can be made to reduce waste going to landfill, the upgrading of a biological leachate station, the replacement of obsolete mobile and stationary equipment as well as improvements in the composting department and the increase of capacity for the treatment of separately collected organic waste.
Authority with the Municipality of Aradippou for "I Pay as I Throw"
Minister Maria Panayiotou, referring to the "Pay as You Throw" program, noted that in 2024 it was implemented in one municipality, in 2025 it is expected to be implemented in 12 municipalities and 9 community complexes, while in 2026 in 7 municipalities and 21 community complexes.
As the competent minister mentioned, the implementation of "Pay As You Throw", which is an obligation of Cyprus to the EU and should have been implemented already last summer.
Specifically, he said that 22 studies have been completed concerning the implementation of the measure and added that the Municipality of Aradippou is the only municipality that proceeded with the implementation in 2024.
In addition to the local authorities that are expected to proceed with implementation in 2025, there are still seven municipalities and 21 community clusters that will proceed in 2026.
Members of Parliament's Committee on the Environment asked for information on possible sanctions and the imposition of a fine, due to the delay observed.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that Cyprus is expected to receive comments, but sanctions may be avoided, as the program is in the implementation stage.
Furthermore, the Committee was informed that the Ministry supports local authorities in the effort to implement the measure and that for this purpose there is a budget of €25 million.
This includes the public information campaign, which has started and continues until the end of 2026.
The cost of the 22 studies already carried out was also covered.
It was also mentioned that the funding will cover equipment (40%), inspections (30%), local information campaign (20%), and total provision for vulnerable groups (10%).
The equipment includes special garbage trucks for organic waste, equipment for bins with locks in each house, as well as bag vending machines.
The estimated cost for the 22 completed studies amounts to €26 million.
