Parliament on Tuesday rejected government legislation introducing a landfill tax on municipal waste, with MPs arguing that households should not bear additional costs before the necessary waste management infrastructure and an effective recycling system are in place.

The regulations were defeated by 26 votes to 19, with Disy and Diko voting in favour, while Akel, Elam, Alma and Direct Democracy voted against.

Under the proposal, a landfill tax of €10 per tonne would have applied to municipal waste sent to landfill until the end of next year.

The charge would then have increased by €5 per tonne each year from 2028 until reaching €70 per tonne.

The government had argued that the measure formed part of Cyprus’ green tax reform and was intended to reduce the amount of municipal waste sent to landfill, which currently stands at 68 per cent compared with the European Union target of 10 per cent by 2035.

It also warned that the legislation was a milestone under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, with its rejection placing €23 million in European funding at risk.

During the debate, MPs criticised successive governments for failing to develop the infrastructure needed to support modern waste management before introducing new charges.

Elam MP and environment committee chairman Linos Papayiannis said the country continued to rely on landfill “without the necessary infrastructure having been created”, while Direct Democracy MP Yiannis Laouris described the proposal as “sketchy and incomplete”, saying no comprehensive long term strategy had been presented.

Alma president Odysseas Michaelides said the debate demonstrated “the collapse of the national waste strategy” and criticised the continued operation of the Kosi waste management facility through repeated contract extensions.

He argued the proposal would unfairly burden citizens regardless of whether they reduced their waste or recycled.

Akel MP Nikos Kettiros described the proposed levy as a “government incompetence tax” rather than a green tax, arguing that Cyprus would continue sending waste to landfill regardless of whether the measure was approved.

Disy MP Andreas Constantinou said the “Pay as You Throw” scheme should have been implemented before any landfill tax was introduced, while parliamentary spokesman Demetris Demetriou said the country had “failed overall in waste management” and criticised delays in delivering planned infrastructure.

Despite expressing reservations, both Disy and Diko backed the proposal, arguing that rejecting it could jeopardise European funding needed for future waste management projects.

Following the vote, the agriculture ministry described parliament’s decision as “a particularly negative development”, warning that the rejection would prevent the disbursement of €23 million in funding for waste management projects by local authorities.

The ministry said that, together with national co financing, the available funding would have totalled approximately €48 million.

It added that the government had reduced the proposed landfill charge from €35 to €10 per tonne, delayed its introduction and secured additional funding for municipalities.

While insisting that “today’s vote against does not cancel the government’s plan”, the ministry said parliament had deprived local authorities of resources they had requested and called on those who opposed the measure to explain “why they deprived the country of €23 million in European funding”.