A total of nine villages in the Larnaca district are set to receive ‘Green Kiosks’ – small sorting centres for recyclable materials configured in modified shipping containers – the Larnaca district government announced on Friday.

The district government said the move comes after governor Angelos Hadjicharalambous signed an agreement with the environment department on Thursday, with the ‘Green Kiosks’ set to be installed in the villages of Ayios Theodoros, Kalavasos, Kato Drys, Kornos, Maroni, Melini, Pano Lefkara, Skarinou, and Zygi.

The agreement, the district government said, “determines the framework for cooperation” between the environment department, the district government, and the agriculture ministry for the ‘Green Kiosks’’ installation.

“The aim is to strengthen the circular economy and improve municipal waste recycling performance, especially in remote areas,” the district government said.

It added that it will take on the management of the ‘Green Kiosks’ itself.

Hadjicharalambous described the signing of the agreement as “another step towards practical implementation of the principles of the circular economy in our district”.

“Through the operation of the ‘Green Kiosks’, we seek to bring recycling closer to the people, reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill, and strengthen our collective effort for a cleaner and more sustainable environment,” he said.

‘Green Kiosks’ split waste into four categories: plastic, metal, paper, and textiles.

Their opening in the Larnaca district is part of a wider national rollout, with Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou having said last year that the creation of ‘Green Kiosks’ “lays the foundation for a new era in waste management and in the circular economy, confirming in practice that protecting the environment is a priority.”

She added that the initiative aims to offer everyone in Cyprus “the means to actively participate in sustainable development”.

Additionally, she said, the government is “working to inform people correctly and develop people’s environmental awareness”.

To this end, she said the ‘Green Kiosks’ “fit exactly into this context”, describing them as “information and awareness centres where people have the opportunity to learn about best practices in waste management and help themselves to reduce their environmental footprint.”

She added, “today more than ever, our individual and collective responsibility towards the environment is not optional, but a necessity.”