Larnaca to lower garbage disposal fees

By Angelos Anastasiou

THE Larnaca municipal council decided to lower garbage-disposal fees, as soon as the updated agreement between the government and the Koshi waste-processing plant comes into force, it was announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, the council said it discussed and welcomed “the cabinet’s recent decision to approve an agreement with the Koshi plant operator at reduced rates”.

“The decision recognises the uneven treatment between Larnaca and Famagusta households (which burdened Larnaca with more than €10 million in the last five years),” the municipality said.

“The municipal council has decided to pass on the reduction in the cost of waste-processing to households.”

However, the statement said, in order to finalise the reduction, the new agreement must be put in effect at the lower rates. Therefore, fees levied on households will remain constant for the time being, until the agreement becomes effective.

The Larnaca municipality said in the statement that “the total cost of introducing waste at the Koshi facility was €1.348 million in 2014, plus the cost of collecting it three times a week”.

“As soon as the aforementioned agreement has been signed and the cost of introducing waste is lowered, the council will re-examine the extent to which it will lower waste-collection fees, according to its terms,” the statement read.

“At this point, the charges, which have remained unchanged since 2011, remain intact,” it added.

“A possible reduction may be implemented in 2016, after incorporating any reductions that may come about within 2015.”

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