**NICOSIA, CYPRUS** – Local authorities across Cyprus are voicing strong opposition to a proposed levy on waste burial, a measure they contend will inevitably translate into increased financial burdens for ordinary households. The Union of Municipalities, representing local governance bodies, has signalled a robust response to this impending fiscal imposition, which is reportedly being championed by the Ministry of Agriculture as a mechanism to align with European Union funding objectives.
The contentious fee, revealed towards the end of last week, is understood to be a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to implement the "Pay as You Throw" (PAYT) waste management programme. This initiative, intrinsically linked to the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, aims to incentivise waste reduction and diversion from landfills. However, municipalities argue that the state bears primary responsibility for the current suboptimal state of waste management, pointing to significant infrastructural deficits that hinder effective source separation and recycling. Kyriakos Xydias, Mayor of Amathus and a key figure in the Union's waste working group, articulated this frustration on Tuesday, stating, "We were informed that the ministry, citing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, intends to submit a proposal to the cabinet to impose a tax on the burial of waste."
This proposed tax, as described by Xydias, would be calculated based on the total volume of waste generated, a calculation he warned would represent "a heavy burden for every household." Municipal leaders are particularly incensed given that they are already grappling with substantial per-ton charges at existing waste treatment facilities. The current reliance on landfilling, with approximately 80% of the nation's waste being deposited at the Pentakomo unit – a figure vastly exceeding the targeted 20% – underscores the systemic challenges that municipalities believe the proposed levy fails to address. Instead, they argue, it unfairly shifts the financial repercussions of these systemic failures onto citizens.
The effectiveness of the PAYT system, in the eyes of the Union of Municipalities, is severely compromised by the lack of prerequisite infrastructure. The original blueprint for PAYT hinged on the efficient separation and processing of organic waste, yet the necessary facilities for such operations remain conspicuously absent. Municipalities are being asked to undertake additional collection routes for organic waste and incur further disposal costs, a proposition they deem entirely untenable. Andreas Vyras, President of the Union of Municipalities and Mayor of Larnaca, has indicated that the organisation will convene its executive committee to deliberate on a unified and forceful reaction to the government's plans. The spectre of municipalities being scapegoated for imposing charges they did not instigate, while simultaneously being ill-equipped to manage waste effectively due to state-level planning deficiencies, looms large.
The overarching concern is that the government’s approach to waste management reform, particularly through the introduction of this burial fee, will precipitate a significant escalation in living costs for Cypriot families without delivering commensurate improvements in environmental stewardship. The Union maintains that the state should be focusing its efforts on rectifying the fundamental issues within the waste management framework, rather than implementing punitive measures that disproportionately affect the public. The forthcoming discussions within the Union are expected to outline a strategic response aimed at preventing what they perceive as an inequitable and economically damaging policy from being enacted.