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- Ελληνικά
There may be no more powerful motivation to keep striving for the best than seeing the goals you set for yourself come to fruition. Today, we are putting into practice what we announced, what we aimed for, what we believed in, having two drivers, perseverance and patience.
So, almost a year after we laid the foundations to achieve the ambitious goal of turning the Presidential Palace into the first zero waste to landfill government building in Cyprus, we have achieved it. Today, we proudly demonstrate that it is not our goals and intentions that speak, but the results of our actions. This success is not only a step forward, but also a proof that together we can say that this Cyprus that is changing is a Cyprus that is changing for the better.
Dear First Lady,
Dear friends, distinguished guests,
Today's event is an event full of feelings of joy, satisfaction, but also of vigilance for the next steps that must and we want to take. We started this action as a joint initiative together with First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, but its achievement could not have been realized without the collective effort, both from the entire staff of the Presidency and the relevant Departments and Agencies that supported this effort.
Starting from the difficult but feasible Advisory Guide prepared by Theodolos Makrygiannis, then Senior Officer in the Office of the Environment Commissioner and now Director of my Office, I could not fail to thank him personally for the passion and the love with which he worked in order to obtain the certification today. Thanks are due to the Associate Professor of the Open University, Mr. Antonis Zorpa and his team, who are the consultants of the Presidential in this effort, to the Cyprus Organization for Standardization (CYS) for the free evaluation and verification of the Presidential as Zero Waste, to the recycling systems Green Dot, WEEE, AFES, DICHA for the recycling bins, to the Municipality of Strovolos for the composters, the Beekeepers' Association and Apivita for supporting the event, the Forestry Department, the Water Development Department, the Environment Department, the General Directorate of Agriculture, and all the staff of the Presidential Administration, who either worked or supported the effort.
As I have said many times in public, we must put the President's exhortation into practice and be the first to become the models of the positive change we want to see. With the preservation and protection of the environment as a priority of our governance programme, the transformation of the Presidential Palace, the place where the President lives and works, as the first government building of zero waste to landfill is a practical demonstration of symbolism, but also an affirmation that our priority is to change habits in order to have a sustainable future.
Our next goal is to achieve the verification of "Zero Waste to Landfill" in the buildings of Ministries and Deputy Ministries, and of course the next government building cannot be the building of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment itself. I should note that the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment is now responsible for monitoring this effort in the Ministries and Deputy Ministries, and I owe a big thank you to the Deputy Directors of the Department, but also to the competent officials who continue the effort.
To this end, the Department of Environment has sent relevant letters and informed all government departments about the actions they can take so that their buildings can be converted to landfill.
To this end, the Department of Environment has sent relevant letters and informed all government departments about the actions they can take so that their buildings can be converted to landfill.
To this end, the Department of Environment has sent relevant letters and informed all government departments about the actions they can take so that their buildings can be converted to landfill. For the preparation of the national standard "Zero Waste to Landfills" a request has already been sent to the Cyprus Standards Organisation and the procedures for its drafting are expected as soon as possible.
In parallel, tender documents are being prepared by the Environment Department for the provision of supplies, such as bins for various waste streams, water coolers, individual reusable water bottles, as well as other equipment, which the state services will procure through Framework Agreements in the e-procurement system, in cooperation with the General Accounting Office.
The success of the initiative can be based not only on the actions we take, but also on the sustainable practices we adopt on a daily basis. From refusing to produce waste, reducing the amount of waste we generate and reusing it, to recycling in the workplace, every step brings us closer to the national goals of the Municipal Waste Management Plan 2022-2028 that we have set.
A few days ago we announced the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment to clean up illegal dog waste sites through a comprehensive framework of actions to effectively address the phenomenon of illegal and uncontrolled waste dumping. Today with zero waste we are proving that if there is a will to change habits and attitudes, then we can also lead to a Cyprus free of illegal dumping sites.
Prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling are key principles in the zero waste hierarchy. Let us all put into practice, "The Zero, The Major" of the change and sustainability to which we aspire.
(Ephys/MS/NYAN)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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