A roadmap for the future of the “pay as you throw” scheme, wherein people are forced to pay for special issue rubbish bags to have their rubbish collected, was agreed upon by the agriculture ministry, the union of municipalities, and the union of communities on Thursday.

The devising of the roadmap was described by Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou as “very important”, with her adding that all sides have now “stated in principle that all participants have a common intention and common willingness to implement the system”.

She added that when fully implemented across Cyprus, the scheme will have a “significant environmental benefit”.

“We are here to ameliorate a series of issues which have been put to us by local authorities so that their residents can implement a rewarding system, a system which gives them incentives, and also that Cyprus can finally get rid of the huge volumes of rubbish, and people can improve their quality of life in terms of sustainability,” she said.

With this in mind, she said regular meetings would be held with a working group which will be formed to “resolve all issues”.

“The dates of the meetings and the first things we need to exchange for this discussion to be constructive have already been agreed upon,” she said.

Meanwhile, union of municipalities chairman and Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras said the pay as you throw scheme is something “we have made clear we wish to implement”.

“We have made it clear that it is a system that as local government, as a state, we have the obligation to implement, not because we are in the European Union, but because it is something good for our country,” he said.

He added that “around 20 serious and important issues” had been discussed at Thursday’s meeting, and that solutions to those issues must be given in due course, “because everyone must be ready to implement this system”.

Earlier, Limassol Mayor Yiannis Armeftis had voiced concerns over the scheme, saying it is beset by issues which must be resolved before it can be implemented, and adding that the allocated €25 million budget for its implementation was too low.

The financial viability of the scheme, as well as that of the municipalities which are expected to run it, must be guaranteed via legislative regulation and by defining the municipalities’ fixed revenue, Armeftis said.

 “The system cannot function solely on [income] from prepaid bags,” he said.

A key factor, he said, is public awareness, as costs will rise for everyone if the programme is incorrectly carried out.

Additionally, regulation is needed to correct the failures of the Pentakomo waste management authority, which would be the unit called upon to manage the district’s organic waste once the programme launches, Armeftis said.

“Pentakomo’s problems are well known and the Limassol municipalities are rejecting the unit because it does not meet specifications,” he said, adding that local authorities are not willing to shoulder the cost of an upgrade to that facility.

“If it takes €25m or more for the unit to operate properly, someone must take on that responsibility – and it is certainly not going to be Limassol or other municipalities,” Armeftis said.

“Things are not rosy, but we want to support the programme, however, there are major concerns,” he added.

His comments came after House President Annita Demetriou said on Wednesday that launching the scheme at present is “unrealistic” and that the project must be postponed until the necessary research is carried out.

Panayiotou had earlier said that when the scheme is fully implemented, it will cost each consumer between €150 and €250 per year.