Paphos Life

THE ministry of agriculture has advised the public to dispose of green waste and other recyclables responsibly, ahead of the expected opening of 18 new green points across the island.

According to a spokesman for the ministry of agriculture and environment, there are a total 22 Green Points (GPs) over Cyprus which are being constructed by the government. Four in the Paphos district, four in Limassol, six in Larnaca-Famagusta and eight in Nicosia.

“Today only the four GPs in Paphos district are operational. The remaining GPs are expected to be operational by March-May 2018, once the ongoing tendering procedure carried out by the three district solid waste management boards is completed,” the spokesman told the Sunday Mail.

The response comes close to a month after written questions from the Sunday Mail were put to the ministry, concerning protracted delays in the opening of a new green point at Avdimou that have led to piles of garden waste and unwanted household items littering large areas of the countryside, as well as general information about disposal of green waste.

Local authorities of Avdimou have appealed to the minister of the environment to step in.

The ministry confirmed that although the construction of a new GP at Avdimou was completed in February 2017, it is not yet operational.

The spokesman said that delays in opening the facility are because its construction falls within an ‘overall contract’ that covers the staged construction of all four permanent GP’s in the Limassol district, plus one mobile GP, to serve the remoter communities of Limassol.

“The contractor is now in the process of the final handover of the infrastructure to the government. Completion of the handover is anticipated by end of January,” he said.

He added that, in the meantime, the water development department, acting as the technical advisor to all the district solid waste management boards, has recently completed the tender documents for the ‘operation and management of the Green Points in the Limassol District.’

The tender will be launched by the appropriate district body – the solid waste management board of Limassol – in February and the contract award is anticipated in April or May, he said.

Until the sites are up and running the ministry said that residents are encouraged to contact their local authorities, or in the case of Avdimou, the solid waste management board of Limassol district,to arrange for the collection of their green waste and its transportation to the newly operated solid waste mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant at Pentakomo.

“The responsibility of the collection, disposal and treatment of green waste, as well as other recyclables, lies with the local authorities. That’s why several proceeded with the construction of their own GP to serve their local residents,” he said.

He added that there are currently seven such municipal GP’s, but ‘unfortunately none in the district of Limassol’.

The spokesman also advised that until the GP at Avdimou is finally open, the local authority could examine the possibility of transferring the community green waste to private enterprises that have obtained the necessary permits from the department of the environment for the treatment of green waste.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2018/01/06/green ... ng-months/

One paragraph near the end of the article caught my attention....
“The responsibility of the collection, disposal and treatment of green waste, as well as other recyclables, lies with the local authorities. That’s why several proceeded with the construction of their own GP to serve their local residents,”

I doubt that my local council would do much if I asked them to clear away all my green waste...

Morning..

I do not think this will stop the real problem of fly tipping unfortunately, we have a green dump just down from Tala it has been there for many years, huge piles of what looks like garden waste, must be others dumps out there, they did make a charge for waste garden material, so this would not encourage the usual suspects.

It used to be 4 euros for a car load plus an environmental tax of about 1 euro!


Shane

If I put the back seats down in the car, I could probably get 6 big bags in it... But where in the Polemi area do I take it to ??

There's a new one in Paphos opening too.

You can find out where all the Paphos area ones are using this guide:

https://www.paphoslife.com/directory/ca ... management

With regards to Polemi, we just load up whenever we are heading down to Paphos, and take it to the Koloni site, or the Agia Varvara site if we fancy a bit of off-roading on the way. Provided you check the opening times it soon becomes a routine. I've got a sack of green waste and an old fridge waiting for my next two trips.

And there is no charge at Green Points, for residential use.

Larnaca district? According to the map ONE ONLY at Dromolaxia, which is about 20 km from where I live. Do the wise men really think that I'm going the waste time/petrol taking stuff there?

One solution would be to buy a chaff-cutting machine and use the result in your own garden to improve the poor soil quality we have in Cyprus.
But then of course it costs money to invest and electricity ( no problem if you produce your own with PV) and it is more healthy for your body than to sit in a car and drive extra miles to dump the stuff.

Max

trevnhil wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:12 am One paragraph near the end of the article caught my attention....
“The responsibility of the collection, disposal and treatment of green waste, as well as other recyclables, lies with the local authorities. That’s why several proceeded with the construction of their own GP to serve their local residents,”

I doubt that my local council would do much if I asked them to clear away all my green waste...

Polemi Council opened a green waste site for villagers, many years ago. Unfortunately, it was neither supervised nor controlled and the dumping of any waste (old cars, fridges, TVs, household rubbish, plastic chairs, soiled animal bedding and even meat carcases) got seriously out of hand. After several years of complaints to the Council and many unsuccessful attempts by the Council to close the tip, the EU finally stepped in and spent millions in putting right what should never have been allowed to start in the first place - no prior environmental research regarding leachate, etc carried out.

We also have quite a lot of green waste, but we pile it up, let it dry over the summer and then burn it during the winter months. (Sorry, that's not the royal "we", just force of habit. ) I know a huge pile of green going brown waste is rather unsightly in your garden, but maybe you have an area you could use, Trev? It does mean a reduction in area to weed, after all! I suppose there's too much to compost? Or is it the wrong stuff for composting?
Or is it too hot in the summer for successful composting in Cyprus? (You can tell I'm not an accomplished gardener. )

We do compost some of the garden waste. But like you, I make a bonfire in the middle of a spare piece of land and burn it in the Autumn when the restrictions on having a fire are relaxed.
Sadly there are locals (presumably) that come along our lane (a cul-de-sac)and dump their garden and house waste. Grrr...

I asked about composting some time ago. The consensus was that it was a good way to attract snakes. I would rather keep my house warm by burning tyres than attract snakes.

So long as the snakes you attract are the black ones, it's not a problem. They're good to have around as they eat rats and BNVs. it's the BNVs you don't want to encourage.

They could do with one or two up near Paphos Forest.

Garden waste should not be a issue in Cyprus. It is bio degradable and good for improving the poor soil. Most garden waste composts down in a few months. Only harder woods will take longer. It encourages all sorts of insects which feeds the birds. Food chain.

What do they do with it at these green points?