Limassol Municipality launches two new recycling and composting programmes

Limassol Municipality announced that it will be implementing two new recycling/ composting programmes at a press conference held on Monday, 22 July 2019 at the Limassol Town Hall in the presence of the Environment Commissioner, Ms Ioanna Panagiotou, the Chairman of the Committee on Health and Environment of the Municipality, Mr Kostas Yiallouros, the Head of the Municipality’s Health Services, Mr Dimitris Theotis, the Municipality’s Senior Health Inspector Mr Fanos Panayi and a group of Municipal Councillors.

The two programs to be implemented include:

1.     Installation of Autonomous Mechanical Composters (ACUA program of the INTERREG V-A Operational Program Greece – Cyprus 2014 – 2020)

2.     Pilot program to boost recycling through incentive schemes (“Benefit As you Save – BAS)

The program is part of the European project “Stimulating Citizens Participation to Recycle Processes through the Implementation of Benefits System” “Benefit As you Save – BAS” which is implemented in the wider framework of the Interreg – BalkanMed 2014-2020 program.

The aim is to address the very low recycling rates in Limassol as opposed to European policies and goals. The project aims at increasing the percentage of municipal solid waste that is selected at source and directed to re-use, recycling or composting. The main objective of the project is to encourage citizens, businesses and stakeholders to actively participate in the process of separate selection through the implementation of incentive schemes.

The Limassol Municipality selected 215 households in the Ekali area in Limassol to carry out the project. The households will be given free bins of mixed waste (240-litre), composting bins (220-litre) and recycling bags.  

Mixed waste bins will be weighed when collected and all information will be sent to the Limassol Municipality for the relevant processing, since a weighing machine will be installed on the garbage truck with which the collection will be carried out.  

The residents of Ekali, who will participate effectively in the pilot project, will be given the following incentives:  

• Reductions in annual taxes
• Free access to municipal parking spaces for a set period of time
• Creation/ embellishment of a park in the area if the goals are met 
• Free entrance to the Limassol zoo for a specific period of time
• Free entrance to events organised by the Municipality such as the Wine Festival or the Great Ballets  
• Honorary plaques to the three most effective residences based on the results 
• Free recycling bags

On the basis of the information collected from the pilot project, the Municipality will progressively implement the scheme throughout Limassol via subsidy schemes for the purchase of waste and composting bins.