Compliance measures are underway Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment said on Friday, following Cyprus’ referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to correctly apply the Landfill Directive and the Waste Framework Directive.
The Ministry said that the referral has to do with compliance issues that have been identified in previous years and for which actions are already underway. It also explained that the referral to the Court is mainly in relation to the management of municipal waste in the district of Paphos, as well as in general to the non-establishment of a comprehensive and appropriate network of waste management facilities on the island.
The Ministry pointed out that challenges in waste management exist and a systematic effort is made to address them through specific planning, which includes both immediate interventions and the implementation of long-term planning for the transition to a modern and sustainable waste management system.
According to the Ministry, the immediate planning concerns the necessary interventions for the operation and upgrading of the landfills at Pentakomo and Koshi villages, and the main goal is that the relevant infrastructures that will be created in the next period, as a transitional solution, can, to the greatest extent possible, be utilized in the future waste management system, so that the investments have long-term value.
As regards Paphos district, the Ministry said that the immediate goal is the development of infrastructure that will contribute to the reduction of waste that is disposed as municipal waste, through the diversion of both recyclable materials and organic waste.
It noted that the proposed solutions are comprehensive and multidimensional and concern the whole of Cyprus, including the remote communities. The success of these actions depends, however, on the cooperation of all those involved, the Ministry furthermore said.
The Ministry also noted that emphasis is placed on the expansion of the separate collection of waste streams, the optimal utilization of the available infrastructure and the promotion of practices, which directly contribute to the increase in recycling and the reduction of sanitary waste.