Cyprus has made illegal waste dumping more expensive. The parliament has doubled the fines for people caught dumping rubbish. Now, individuals can be fined up to €8,000. Chief inspectors can also give much larger fines. They can now fine people up to €40,000. This is to stop illegal rubbish sites. There are about 800 of these sites in Cyprus. These sites are bad for the environment. They also make money for criminals.
However, some town officials are worried. They do not like a new government plan. The government wants to charge a fee for burying waste. This new fee could be paid for by EU money. The Union of Municipalities is strongly against this fee. They say that people will have to pay more money. This will make life harder for families. They also think the government should help more.
It is not clear if the higher fines will work. Some politicians say fines are not enough. They need more people to watch for illegal dumping. The environment department does not have enough staff. It is hard for them to check all areas. Cyprus is also not meeting EU rules for waste. They need more proper places to put rubbish. This makes the environmental problems worse.