A total of 50 thousand envelopes with information material and two recycling bags for PMD and paper materials, will be sent from next week by the Limassol Municipality to its citizens, as part of the "We recycle for a clean Limassol" campaign, launched in cooperation with Green Dot Cyprus and aimed at increasing recycling quotas.
At a press conference at the Municipal Hall, Mayor Nicos Nicolaides said that while Europe sets strict targets for recycling rates of 70% by 2030, and while the current average of member states is 45%, in Limassol the recycling rate is only 10%.
"The average Limassol resident produces 600 kg of garbage every year, of which only 10% is recycled, while the composting rate is even lower," he said. Nicolaides, adding that "we have a huge way to go if we are to continue to say that we are European citizens."
As a Municipal Authority, he continued, we set as a strategic goal the management of waste through the three 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle), i.e. reduce-reuse and recycle, and indicated that to achieve this, the sorting of waste at source, the separate collection of different types of waste and composting should be strengthened.
"The Limassol Municipality, recognizing that one of the biggest challenges facing our country is the management of municipal waste, in cooperation with Green Dot Cyprus, is undertaking a new important action within the framework of its environmental policy, in order to inform and sensitize the citizens of our city on the importance of recycling. Looking forward that recycling will become a daily habit for everyone", he added.
Among other things, Nikos Nicolaides recalled that, in the Limassol district, there are four Green Points, a model unit for recycling inert materials and that, within 2023, the installation of 120 submersible and semi-submersible bins and a system of compaction and collection of all types of waste is planned for the coastal front and the city centre.
Green Dot Cyprus needs the help of the municipal authorities and the citizens themselves, said the Chairman of its Board of Directors, Vassilis Petridis, noting that the door-to-door collection of PMD and paper materials is done only in one more European country and despite its high cost, it is considered a successful model.
He said that incentives should be given, such as the "Pay as you throw" system, which is expected to be implemented in Limassol Municipality in 2023, indicating that its implementation in the Municipality of Aglantzia resulted in the doubling of recyclable materials.
"We are here to work with the municipality to achieve these targets because Cyprus must become a model country in the circular economy, as Europe is setting very high targets for us," he added.
From next week, 50,000 households will receive the envelopes that have been prepared, said Green Dot Cyprus Director General Marios Vrahimis, noting that they will contain the envelopes, a paper recycling bag and a recycling bag for PMD packaging (plastic water and milk bottles, plastic containers and bags, metal packaging such as soft drinks, coffee, cans and Tetrapak packaging, etc.χ. juices and small milk cartons), information material on the correct use of these bags, as well as a map of the Municipality with the collection days of recyclable packaging from each establishment.
The envelopes will also include a letter from the Mayor, stressing the increasingly urgent need nowadays for recycling, and how important it is to understand that the proper management of the waste we create is a matter of primary importance for the preservation of the environment, our health, our quality of life and the image of the Municipality.
Source: KYPE
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