Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis announced on Tuesday that 30 illegal rubbish dumps have been cleared, with another 130 set to be targeted, as he called on the public to keep Cyprus clean.

He lamented the fly-tipping which often reappears after the authorities have cleared a site but said that tree-planting will take place in some of the affected areas.

Kadis visited a fly-tipping site in Arakapas, the village at the epicentre of the deadly fire in July that killed four men and scorched some 55 square kilometres of forest, cultivation, homes and property.

He acknowledged that a large amount of the items dumped in the area were from the fallout of the fires but emphasised much of the rest could have been taken to green sites instead.

Kadis emphasised that the council of ministers approved €1 million to facilitate the clearing of such sites, under the programme of ‘See It Clearly’.