The possibility of imposing deterrent penalties on those who pollute free spaces in the municipalities and the creation of new green spots, are the main weapons provided to the municipalities by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis, after a meeting today at the Ministry for issue of waste management.
The mayors of Nicosia met on Friday with the Minister of Agriculture to discuss the problems that arose in the management of garbage after the closure of Kotsiatis, mainly the increased cost of transporting garbage to the Total Waste Treatment Plant (Landfill) in Kosi, but uncontrolled dumping of garbage by citizens in free spaces in municipalities.
To the call of the municipalities for their financial support in order to cope with the transitional period created by the change of philosophy in waste management, the Ministry responded with the support of the municipalities for the creation of infrastructure, which at this stage seems to leave them satisfied.
After the meeting, the actions focused on creating more green spots in the municipalities, launching an awareness campaign in combination with deterrent fines from municipalities for dumping waste in open spaces and the operation of the transit station in Nicosia, where garbage trucks will be they can take the garbage to be transported to Kosi.
Three new green dots
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture announced the Ministry's intention to intensify the green spots by creating three new points in the Nicosia area, where citizens will be able to leave free bulky household waste.
The three new green spots will be created in the municipalities of Aglantzia, Latsia and Lakatamia, while the Minister announced that soon the number of green spots will multiply throughout Cyprus.
He said that while there were plans to create many more points than those that operate today, there was initially a reservation and a refusal from the local government that did not allow them to be created. At the moment, he added, there is an opposite trend and many areas are asking for the creation of green spots and for this the Ministry is proceeding with the planning, already having the corresponding funds in its budget.
Municipal inspectors will be able to impose strict fines
At the same time, the Ministry, in cooperation with the municipalities and the Press and Information Office, is launching an extensive awareness campaign, since, as mentioned, many of the problems arise through the irresponsible attitude of the citizens themselves.
Mr. Kadis also said that legal tools will be given to the municipalities, so that where there is no awareness, there will be appropriate penalties. Specifically, inspectors will be appointed by a decree issued by the Ministry in the coming days, so that where irregularities are observed they can impose extrajudicial fines. The intention of the Ministry is to exhaust its strictness, in order to avoid garbage dumping on free plots or in rivers.
As the Minister explained, at the moment there is a possibility of imposing fines of up to 4000 euros by a very small number of inspectors of the Department of Environment. The decree that will be issued will expand this possibility, giving it to the representatives of the local self-government that will be nominated by the municipalities.
"The Ministry will be relentless in these cases and will exhaust its strictness. "We will no longer accept illegal dumping of rubbish wherever it is," he said.
Creating infrastructure instead of financial support
In the request of the municipalities for financial support due to the increased costs of the transition from simple landfilling to integrated management, the Ministry proposed the creation of infrastructure for better waste management.
The Minister stated that "we do not want the money we will give to go to a black hole" and expressed the desire to "go to the creation of infrastructure that will support the effort for better waste management".
"We are in consultation with the municipalities so that these infrastructures are created as soon as possible and we have in our budgets the necessary funds to support this effort," he said.
Meeting with skip managers
The Minister also had a meeting with representatives of the skips, during which an agreement was reached on how to manage this new situation.
The problems arise due to the increased costs and the time when only one unit operates for integrated management of this type of waste.
The Minister said that there is a reduction of the initial price initially given by this unit so that the skip managers can fulfill their obligations in the next period and beyond "we will facilitate them so that they can do preliminary management that will reduces their costs on the one hand and on the other hand we will help as much as we can the processes of creating additional units, so that through competition lower prices can be set ".
Satisfaction of municipalities from the counter-proposals of the Minister
Speaking after the meeting, the Mayor of Strovolos, Andreas Papacharalambous, stated that the closure of the Kotsiatis landfill, which was done very well, has brought about a series of problems that found the municipalities unprepared.
"We as local authorities face these problems every day. "We have brought before the competent minister, Mr. Kadis, the issues that concern us and we are leaving this meeting encouraged that the problems will gradually find their solution", he said.
He also said that it is not easy to manage the new situation, which requires extra money and some adjustment period. "But we have to do the right thing so that this adjustment period is as short as possible," he said.
He also stressed the importance of citizens realizing that they can not fly to reach the adjacent plot, creating very bad environmental effects for the city.
He thanked the Minister for the immediate response and expressed confidence that they will be able to address the problems that arose with the cooperation of all.
"We are satisfied with the proposal of the Minister, the counter-proposal of the Minister may be the most correct for the money to go where it should. "The most important infrastructure is the creation of a transit station within Nicosia so that we can bring about a big reduction in the garbage trucks that go to Kosi, as a result of which there is this huge cost for our municipalities", he noted.
He added that the operation of the transit station has been studied and handed over to the Minister, who clarified that it is within the intentions of the Ministry to examine it and support it.