A few days ago, Vestnik Kipra published a fairly large article (in Russian) about the problem of waste dumps on the island. And since I’ve long been thinking of writing about this peculiar issue, I decided not to miss the chance to share my thoughts.
The article says that this beautiful island is essentially dying under the weight of countless illegal dumps that virtually no one is dealing with. Cyprus has had a waste separation system for years, as well as dedicated collection points for bulky trash. Yet all these efforts do little to solve the problem.
We could debate endlessly why these dumps appear and why no one takes proper care of them. The problem is, in reality, a complex one. I’ll try to illustrate with a few examples why, in my humble opinion, the island grows dirtier and dirtier every year.
Recycling
Let me start with recycling, since the whole world has been fighting for this noble practice for a long time now.
In Cyprus, waste is typically separated into the following categories, each with its own rules for disposal:
- PMD — recyclable materials: plastic bottles and bags, Tetra Paks, etc. Collected in special white transparent bags. Pickup varies by location: in some areas there are dedicated blue bins, while in villages they are usually collected from your home.
- Paper. Collected in brown bags and then either placed into brown containers or picked up from homes in villages.
- Glass. All across Cyprus you can find special green containers where you must bring and discard glass. They are more common in cities, especially near major supermarkets; in villages it’s a matter of luck.
- Bulky waste. There are special collection points, and they even pay money for certain types of items. But you must transport your old sofa or washing machine there yourself. In some villages, a local resident collects everyone’s bulky waste near his home and later takes it to the center, earning 200–400 euros from it.
- Green waste (branches, clippings). Must be taken to special collection points by the homeowner. Usually this is handled by the gardener who trims your trees and bushes. I still haven’t figured out where exactly to take it myself — I’ve used various hacks instead. Important note: if you put all of it into a regular garbage bag, the garbage truck will usually leave it behind upon seeing a bunch of greenery inside (but if it’s mixed with household waste, they will take it 😉 )
- Batteries. Must be collected separately and disposed of in special mini-containers, usually found in all major supermarkets and electronics stores.
- Everything else goes into regular trash, which can be packed in any bags. For regular waste removal, each household/apartment pays an annual municipal fee. Apartment buildings usually have their own bins in the courtyard; private houses have a niche in the fence with a door, behind which either bags or a personal container are stored.
On the surface, everything seems fine. But the devil, as we know, is in the details. In practice, this system has several issues.
- Although recycling has existed in Cyprus for many years, the island still can’t handle actual processing. There are many cases (mentioned in the article as well) where waste collected for recycling piles up near recycling facilities and remains unprocessed for years. And some companies even received subsidies but never intended to recycle anything at all (feels just like “back home,” doesn’t it).
- The sorting rules are extremely limited. For example, on the Green Dot Cyprus website there are instructions describing what goes into each category. They improve a little every year. But they cover only the most obvious items. In practice, my kids often bombard me with questions — “does this go to recycling or where?” And often I have no idea what to answer. Take food containers: the outside is paper (sometimes laminated), the inside is a foil-like layer. Or packaging from electronics, toys… In theory it should be recyclable, but in practice — who knows. So ordinary people usually choose one of two approaches: either recycle only what is clearly listed on the website, or recycle everything they personally assume to be recyclable in theory. And both approaches have their drawbacks.
- People are naturally very lazy. And a lot of bulky waste is never taken to the official collection points (which may be far away or not always open). Instead, people look for the nearest empty lot and dump it there. Then someone else does the same — and off it goes. And it’s still good if it’s just branches. More often — it’s anything and everything. And it lies there decomposing, producing a stench (at 35–45 degrees in summer), with toxic substances leaching into the soil, from where they can get into water sources and into the fruit and vegetables grown nearby.
P.S. In some areas — for example, in Larnaca — they launched an entire project with underground waste containers. Meaning that what you see above ground is just a bin. Which is actually not a bin at all, but a portal to hell an underground storage unit. They say there were some issues when the system was first introduced, but now it’s quite convenient to use the ones near the airport by the beach. No overflowing bins and, consequently, no dumps forming nearby. Cats can’t get in, and the trash doesn’t blow away.
Low-quality waste collection
I decided to address this point separately, because I consider it quite important.
Since waste sorting is separated by category, the collection is usually separated as well, carried out by different companies.
Regular household waste is handled the best. The pickup schedule is more or less predictable (usually once every 2–3 days), often at night. Although the quality suffers as well. Garbage collectors throw bags into the truck with the attitude of “the faster I toss them in, the better.” And if a couple of bags tear in the process and trash scatters around — well, the truck is already gone.
With PMD and paper, things are far less consistent. In cities they may collect more frequently, in villages less so. For example, in my village there used to be a special spot where you had to bring everything yourself: you’d accumulate a certain amount and then drive it to those containers in the middle of the village. Now they collect it from your home “early Saturday morning.” That’s the theory. In practice, “early morning” can mean 6 a.m. — or 4 p.m. on Saturday. And that wouldn’t be such a big deal if collection were from fixed bins. But they collect it directly from your house, meaning you have to put the bags out on the street in advance. If people rinse their recyclables not well (which, in practice, they rarely do — human laziness), the leftover food residue inside the bags attracts cats (which outnumber humans on the island roughly two to one). The cats tear the bags open, and within hours the trash happily scatters throughout the neighborhood. The collection company doesn’t care at all. Does some of the trash spill out of the bag? Not their problem. They grab the bag, toss it into the truck, and drive off. And afterward, scraps lie all around people’s houses — often not even from your garbage.
And several times they didn’t take my recycling at all — or took it selectively. They’d grab three bags and leave the fourth one lying by the gate.
Glass has its own story as well. In many locations, it’s collected very infrequently. As a result, the bins simply overflow. So people leave bags of glass next to them, or broken bottles end up scattered all over the ground. And honestly, I think that some individuals throw bags next to the containers out of pure laziness — not even attempting to put them inside, even when the bin is empty.
Overall, the problem of overflowing paper and PMD containers near apartment buildings is also common. And the collection companies don’t care — they collect strictly according to schedule, and monitoring fill levels isn’t part of their job.
Lack of a cleanliness culture
But the biggest problem, in my view, is the lack of a cleanliness culture. All the issues I listed above are really just consequences of this one.
Yes, someone might say that I’m simply coming from Minsk, a city known for its cleanliness. But as the saying goes, it’s clean not where they clean — but where they don’t litter.
When I first arrived in Cyprus and began exploring the island, I was shocked at how universally dirty it was. For me, it was a real shock.
Cypriots are proud of the island’s unique nature, its unspoiled environment. Yet at the same time, they do everything in their power to pollute it as much as possible. Just to name a few points:
- Those very same illegal dumps. A huge number of them — inside villages. Two years ago, my own village had a special place where you were supposed to bring PMD and paper. There were designated containers. However:
- People dumped everything there — mattresses, washing machines, whatever — and threw it wherever they pleased around the containers.
- Even when they brought the correct waste, they were too lazy to tie the bags and actually put them into the containers. Piles of bags lay beside them, and the wind spread everything all over the area.
- The impression was that right in the heart of the village there was a reeking garbage pit. And people largely didn’t care (except for those who lived right next to it).
- A lack of trash bins. Even if you want to throw something away properly, you can barely find a bin on the street. Usually they’re only placed near shops. No shops nearby — no trash bins.
- A culture of “I drop garbage wherever I stand.” You walk through the city and all around you see cigarette butts, cigarette packs, coffee cups (which people consume here in incredible quantities). And all of this is simply tossed at people’s feet or behind their backs. I’m not exaggerating — I’ve often seen locals walking and literally throwing their trash to the side. Drivers do the same on the road: out the window go cigarette butts (which can easily fly into the window of the car behind), paper food wrappers, cigarette packaging, aluminum cans. The same everywhere.
- Moreover, this happens on beaches. Someone smokes or drinks and then throws the cigarette right into the sand where children are playing. There are more cigarette butts on Cypriot beaches than tourists in high season.
For me all of this is absurd. I don’t understand how one can hate their own home to such a degree. Apparently, in their own apartments they must also be throwing trash all over the floor.
And it’s precisely this culture that is killing the island. Because until people learn to respect the cleanliness around them, you can lecture them endlessly about how dumps are bad. If they don’t even notice the tons of garbage under their own feet every day, what exactly are you trying to tell them?
In recent years more and more activists have been drawing attention to the problem. And the government alone cannot cope with it.
In many areas volunteers gather in groups and spend weekends collecting trash in their neighborhoods. What’s frightening is the way many locals look at them. As if they’re idiots. Yet practice shows that some begin to think about it. Sadly, not all.
That’s why I believe that both the people themselves and the government must not only fight the trash, but launch an active program aimed at changing the culture. Not just “separate your waste,” but “don’t trash your own home.” Lead by example — show that sometimes you need to go outside and clean up. And instill this from kindergarten and school. Only then will the island start to look like my hometown Minsk so beloved by tourists (which, truth be told, also isn’t as clean as it could be).
