House Passes ‘pay-as-you-throw’ law

The House on Thursday passed regulations relating to the management of municipal waste, including for the ‘pay-as-you-throw’ scheme.

The pay-as-you-throw scheme, and the related obligations of all municipal authorities, will take full effect at the end of June 2024.

In October last year parliament had passed legislation tweaking the Waste Law in such a way as to enable the activation on a nationwide basis of the ‘Pay-as-you-throw’ system designed to promote recycling.

The system won’t be implemented not straight away, but after a transitional period.

Pay-as-you-throw is a key element of the ‘European Green Deal’, a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making Europe ‘climate neutral’ by 2050.

The system holds people accountable for the waste they produce by acting as an immediate incentive to correctly manage it in order to minimise their charges.

Passage of the legislation – and now the accompanying regulations – will allow Cyprus to tap the EU’s Cohesion Fund.

Pay-as-you-throw has already been implemented separately by Aglandjia municipality, which has reported a substantial reduction in waste volumes.