A touted “pay as you throw” waste management programme is close to implementation, perhaps as early as next year, according to Environment Department director Elena Stylianopoulou on Thursday.

“Its main goal is the separate collection of waste at its source,” so that the materials can be utilised for the production of other products after processing, she told the CyBC.

The correct separation of waste at its source is in line with EU goals for drastic reduction of waste buried in landfills by 2035, the director explained.

“Local authorities have taken over the task and are to present their action plans on a regional basis for separation-at-source initiatives,” Stylianopoulou said.

Responsibility thus now lies with the local authorities, which will have the technical and financial support of the agriculture ministry and the environment department, through subsidies funneled via the EOA (district administration organisations).

The general plan had been put out by the state for localities to acquire personnel and the means to conduct the transition in waste collection and processing, Stylianopoulou said.

Awareness raising, training of the public towards the new habit of waste disposal, updated equipment and additional staffing will be needed, she said.

“The local authorities have told us their requirements and are currently working on action plans,” Stylianopoulou said. “There is a willingness to combine forces and unify districts,” in the effort to roll out the new system in synch, over large swathes of the island, she added.

“It is not easy to do from one day to the next but the research has been done,” she said, and the system may come to fruition even earlier than the projected two-year transition period.

As for what is to be gained, for consumers it entails an eventual reduction in waste management fees, she said, despite reservations voiced by opposition party Akel.

In the greater picture, the state will fulfil its EU environmental obligations and set up a circular economy according to the EU Green Deal, whereby waste products are to be utilised as a resource for energy production and other kinds of revenue-generating products, Stylianopoulou said.