Welcome to the State of Zero Waste Municipalities 2022 Report

In Cyprus:

Our main work over the last year was to introduce the zero waste cities concept in Cyprus. We decided to work with the municipalities and local authorities that have the ambition to make a difference and comply with European and national strategies for waste reduction and the circular economy. We have seen that smaller local authorities were keener to listen and express their interest to become zero waste cities, more so than larger ones.

Furthermore, the ZW Cyprus Alliance started planning common actions in 2022. The organisations that are part of the Alliance support each other’s work and moreover, we send common letters or comments as an Alliance for consultations on national strategies and laws regarding waste management.

The big changes and developments that we are expecting at a national level is the introduction of the new law for the Municipal Waste Management that obligates municipalities to adopt a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) system by the 1st of January 2024. Furthermore, the Department of the Environment is at the moment discussing with stakeholders about the management of separated organic waste in the island. For Nicosia and Larnaca there are plans to send the organics to the Integrated Waste Management Plant (IWMP) in Koshi for aerobic composting. For Paphos and Limassol, the complexity lies in the fact that the Integrated Waste Management Plant (IWMP) in Pentakomo is not functioning properly. Therefore, the stakeholders are under negotiations to find a solution before the end of the year. As for mountainous and isolated communities there is a plan for installation of 50 community composting sites around the island.

In 2022, our biggest success at the local level was that we managed to secure the commitment of Ipsonas municipality, which is now our country’s first Zero Waste Candidate City. The municipality is currently developing the necessary strategies and plans that will change the narrative in waste management at a local level in Cyprus towards a more positive one, as well as ultimately helping the municipality to meet their targets for waste reduction.

This includes making plans to organise and start separate collection of all the waste streams, if possible before the end of 2023. Our biggest priorities for the next 12 months include:

➔Increasing the number of zero waste cities in Cyprus;

➔Increasing the awareness of public authorities about the Zero Waste Cities Certification and the benefits that zero waste in general can bring to communities;

➔To engage and promote our positions in public consultations set by the national government, increasing our advocacy on zero waste in key national level discussions about this issue;

➔To work more effectively together with the organisations and groups that are part of the ZW Cyprus Alliance, organising common actions and events to promote positive impacts towards zero waste in our country

Read the full report and the stories of all countries here !