Emergency financial support of €1 million. to the communities for the cleaning of uncontrolled waste disposal sites was approved on Thursday by the Council of Ministers, following a joint proposal by the Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Interior and Transport, Communications and Works.
According to a joint announcement by the three Ministries, on Friday, the funding aims to protect the environment and public health, as well as strengthen fire prevention through the removal of illegally discarded waste.
As stated in the announcement, although the responsibility for identifying and cleaning illegal waste disposal sites lies, under current legislation, to the Local Authorities, the Government continues for the third consecutive year to support them financially, recognizing that the immediate removal of waste is a critical condition for the protection of the environment, public health and fire prevention.
It is also noted that in 2024 €1,001,550.65 and in 2025 €1,219,586.35 were allocated for cleaning of illegal waste disposal sites as part of the #WasteFreeCyprus campaign.
With the new approval, amounting to €1 million, the total financial support granted from 2024 now amounts to €3,221,137.
The new funding will be allocated to Community Service Clusters and Community Councils for the cleaning of areas designated by the competent authorities, with priority given to areas with an increased risk of fires.
At the same time, it is clarified that the emergency aid of €1 million is in addition to €4.16 million already approved by the Government for 2026 in the context of fire prevention measures in communities, further strengthening actions to protect the natural environment and human life.
