Greens lament lack of solid waste disposal system

THERE IS no management system for solid waste such as construction debris in Cyprus, the House Environment Committee heard yesterday.

A lot, if not most, of the building debris ends up in landfills, or worse, in river beds and streams, blocking the flow of water and flooding large areas when there is heavy rain.

The committee discussed the matter yesterday in the wake of the floods, which caused a lot of destruction to properties in various communities last month.

It is quite a common sight in Cyprus to see dry river beds with hills of debris or even streams levelled to make way for the construction of houses.

Green party deputy Giorgos Perdikis, presented a slideshow of photos of various areas in Cyprus where such practices are common place.

“The main cause (of the destruction) is not the heavy rain but the interventions in the natural flow of water,” Perdikis said.

He said in Cyprus, river beds, were, are and will be the preferred dumping sites of construction waste and other materials such as fridges and furniture.

AKEL deputy Panicos Hambas said the problem cannot be solved only by passing legislation.

“It is a matter of conscience,” he said.

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou said Cyprus ignored the issue of solid waste management for many years.

“They can be recycled,” Theopemptou said. “The technology exists and is implemented abroad.”

Cyprus has legislation covering the collection and transport of such materials but not the management.

We are talking about violators when there is no system of management, said Costas Roushas, representative of building contractors.

There are currently no designated places where such material can be disposed of.

In Nicosia for instance, debris was dumped at the Kotsiatis landfill, which is now full and cannot receive anymore.

The fine for such offences is €86 but there are only 17 inspectors for the whole island.

Nicosia district officer Argyris Papanastasiou said the government was looking into hiring more personnel to make the service more effective.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.