Filenews 17 December 2025 - by Ioanna Mantziipa
A chronic wound, which everyone knows but no one actually addresses, is the issue of garbage and rubble dumping throughout Cyprus. The problem of illegal landfills is neither new nor unknown. Instead, it swells year after year.
New points of uncontrolled discharge are constantly springing up, even in areas with intense residential and tourist development.
In western Limassol, a stone's throw from new developments and the casino-resort, dozens of waste materials and tyres are found dumped in fields and among cypress trees. One of these points, for which "F" has relevant photographic material, is located near the road that connects the municipal district of Cherkez Tsiflik with Asomatos.
The Ecologists' Movement took a position on the issue, through the coordinator of the districts of Limassol and Paphos, Andreas Evlavis, pointing out that in this particular case, the cypresses act as a "cover" for all those who proceed with illegal discharges.
Dozens of tires can also be found on the other side of the area, also covered by cypresses, while intense developmental activity is taking place a stone's throw away.
"We sound the alarm every day. If a solution is not provided so that all these useless materials can be transported to places where they will be properly managed, the problem will not be solved. This is purely a matter of political will, in order to effectively address the issue of waste management, illegal garbage dumps and the uncontrolled dumping of useless materials," underlines Mr. Evlavis
"People find the easy solution. What he no longer uses, he loads into a car and throws it wherever he finds. The green points can no longer live up to their role. There is no adequate control nor proper operation. Five years ago they worked perfectly, but today they are not, as the state has not taken care of the removal and proper management of the materials that need to be recycled."
Mr. Evlavis underlined that as long as the state is unable to manage its waste, the problem will continue to grow. "Instead of recycling and proper management, we bury everything or, even worse, burn it. Cyprus' problem is that for decades it has not been able to implement a comprehensive waste management policy."
Finally, he warned that with the implementation of the pay-as-you-throw system, without adequate controls and infrastructure, the situation could worsen further. "Ecological consciousness has not been cultivated. Only spasmodic moves are being made and it will take many years to reach European levels in garbage management," he concluded.
