The Nicosia District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) on Wednesday blamed the state for long-standing gaps in national waste infrastructure, saying the burden of national planning cannot be shifted onto local authorities and residents. In a memorandum to the House Environment Committee, it said local authorities were paying twice because the state had failed to develop a national network of green points, the sites where the public drops off waste for recycling.
DLGO president Constantinos Yiorkadjis said the shortcomings predated the 2024 reform, and that the state’s delay in developing an accessible and adequate national network had forced municipalities and communities to set up temporary, unlicensed green points with their own resources. Local authorities now contribute to the official licensed national system while also covering the running costs of their own unlicensed sites. The memorandum said this also leaves serious environmental and institutional gaps.
The DLGO runs eight green points, in Strovolos, Ergates, Alambra, Kokkinotrimithia, Astromeritis, Peristerona, Linou and Malounta, at an annual cost of nearly one million euros. Forty per cent of that goes solely on handling 23 different waste streams. The organisation said the limited number of licensed waste recipients made it dependent on specific facilities, driving up charges.
No outlet for three waste streams
According to DLGO data, there is no specialised recovery solution on the market for three waste streams: wood, non-reusable textiles and polystyrene. For other materials, including electrical and electronic equipment, X-rays and bulky waste, the options are very limited.
In summer, when the few facilities available temporarily stop accepting deliveries, green points risk being overwhelmed as materials pile up and take up space, the DLGO said.
It also criticised the Department of Environment, saying its published list of licensed operators gives no clear, up-to-date picture of whether licences are valid, which European Waste Catalogue codes they cover or whether facilities can actually accept waste. It called for a publicly accessible digital register, updated continuously, to be set up immediately.
Reuse
Reuse shops in Linou and Malounta operate on a very limited scale, while plans for a reuse centre in South Nicosia Municipality (Dali) have yet to make real progress.
The DLGO also wants the obligations of collective extended producer responsibility schemes such as Green Dot set out clearly, so that recyclable materials are collected on time and the related costs, which currently fall on the organisation, are covered.
Planned sites
Five more green points are in the pipeline. The Water Development Department is building one in Geri, which the DLGO will run. The DLGO is designing and building one in the SOPAZ area of east Nicosia and one in Lakatamia/Tseri, both with state funding. Sites in west Nicosia (Engomi) and Kato Pyrgos, Tillyria, are waiting for the state to find land.
