The introduction of the municipal waste landfill tax, which has been a commitment by Cyprus to the European Commission since May 2021, has caused a storm of reactions. The controversy was taken today to the parliamentary Committee on the Environment.
During the discussion of the issue, although it became clear that the majority of the members and the Union of Municipalities are strongly against, however, it was decided to start an article-by-article discussion of the regulations and if necessary to hold additional meetings even after the closure of the Parliament for the summer holidays and if required to convene an extraordinary session of the Plenary.
The executive warns that an amount of €23 million will be lost from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism if the regulations are not approved by the end of August, while the Local Government and parliamentary parties categorically refuse to shift the cost of state negligence onto the backs of citizens.
The director general of the Directorate General for the Environment, Costas Constantinou, after stating that Cyprus is among the three EU countries with the highest percentage of waste production per capita, underlined that the reform must be approved and published by the end of August at the latest. Otherwise, he explained, the weighting factor of the deviation from the European milestone will result in an immediate deduction of €23 million from the state coffers.
"The state will not benefit from this taxation. The money will not end up in the public coffers, but will be returned 100% to the local authorities to finance sorting measures at the source", pointed out Mr. Konstantinou.
At the same time, the director general stated that "waste management has collapsed overall".
Referring to the two large units, he explained that one closed its life cycle (Koshi) and the other completely failed (Pentakomo), with the state taking over the management in Limassol in a hurry to prevent a "health bomb". The planning, he noted, provides for the entry of a contractor in Pentakomo in mid-2027, and in Koshi with a six-month delay. At the same time, he stated that through a study that will be carried out and completed in 2028, there must be a proposal for Paphos within three months with the signing of the contract, as the area lacks a unit.
Regarding the cost for households, he noted that with the implementation of the Pay As You Throw (PDO) system, the burden will be limited to about €10 for 2027 with the prospect of a gradual increase to €15 in 2028 if the system does not work.
The Government committed that the €23 million of the Recovery Mechanism, together with the €25 million of the "THALIA" program (a total of €48 million), will be entirely allocated to local authorities for the purchase of home composters, bins and the strengthening of sorting infrastructure at the source.
Union of Municipalities: Citizens will not pay the price of state failure
The representative of the Union of Municipalities, Pantelis Georgiou, was a catapult against the government's handling, clarifying in Parliament that the Local Government sets a "red line" in the imposition of new taxes. According to the Union of Municipalities, "the Local Government and the citizens cannot be called upon to bear the costs caused by the failure of the state and its inability to have the necessary waste management infrastructure ready in time".
The Municipalities express strong concern about the "image of a lack of integrated planning" and warn that if the tax is imposed without infrastructure, citizens, in their effort to avoid the cost, will end up throwing garbage in ditches and rivers.
The discussion in the parliamentary committee was held in particularly high tones with the former deputy mayor of Aglantzia and current DISY MP Andreas Konstantinou complaining that the state is putting "the knife to the throat" of the Municipalities without having created the necessary infrastructure. He cited as an example the Municipality of Aglantzia, which achieved a reduction of 3,500 tons in garbage, but met with the absence of political will from neighbouring municipalities.
On behalf of AKEL, Nikos Kettiros wondered if the fact that we bury most of the garbage in the EU is the fault of the citizens or the state. He left spikes on whether the €23 million of the EU is ultimately "aid or loan with interest", while he suggested that the legislation should be passed only without prejudice to the parallel implementation of the infrastructure.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis launched a harsh attack on state services, saying characteristically that "the state is sleeping deeply. We arrive at the last minute and put the gun to the head. We are first in the trash." He expressed his doubt about whether the plan will finally be implemented by 2039.
The chairman of the Committee, ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis, expressed his complete disagreement with the taxation of households, asking for explanations on the way the tax escalation was determined (from €10 to €70) and demanding a list of the persons who held the responsible positions of responsibility in previous years.
Anthoula Savvidi, director of the Recovery and Resilience Directorate, explained the gravity of the situation, revealing that the European Commission had already temporarily suspended a €46 million penalty related to coal and landfill fees by an implementing decision in March 2026. "Our deadline is August 31. The tax must come into force without subversive provisions, as the cut-off rate for the reforms is many times higher," he stressed, adding that efforts are being made to reduce the tax fine to €14-15 million.
On the part of the Ministry of the Interior, Antonis Economides admitted the "failures of the state", pointing out that the WDD was incompetent to take over the Pentakomo in 2017. He noted that the Municipalities cannot afford the cost, however, he stressed that there is no other option than the adoption of the regulation, with the issues returning to the Provincial Self-Government Organizations (EOA) and the Ministry of the Interior on July 1, 2027.
