GREEN Dot Cyprus has won the state’s Environment Award for its successful recycling project that now covers most of Nicosia and Limassol.

The organisation’s long-term aim is to provide recycling waste collection to the entire island.

Green Dot Cyprus is a non-profitable organisation that was founded by Technical Chamber KEVE, and deals with processing recyclable materials, such as paper, glass, plastic and metal.

Green Dot Cyprus’ general manager Kyriacos Parpounas is now calling on the media for support to improve the public’s knowledge and sensitivity towards recycling.

It is already in co-operation with six municipalities and three communities in Limassol and Nicosia. “Very, soon it will cover more than 50 per cent of Cyprus’ population, with an organised programme for collecting and recycling materials,” Parpounas explained.
Green Dot will also soon be in a position to manage old electrical appliances on behalf of WEEE Electrocyclosis Cyprus Ltd, as well as household batteries on behalf of the organisation AFIS Cyprus Ltd.

“A big part of these organisations’ effort is public information, education and sensitisation on recycling matters and the methods used to collect and manage the materials,” said Parpounas.

Already, Green Dot Cyprus has activated a number of campaigns, aimed at the public and schoolchildren. A package of fun leaflets with games and treasure hunts – treasures being recyclable materials – have already been sent out to all the island’s schools.

“Recently, our school education and information programme received the state environment award in a competition run by the government.”

The new programme to collect and process household recyclables began in February 2007 and so far covers Strovolos, Ayios Athanasios, Yermasoyia, Kato Polemidia, Mesa Yitonia, Mouttayiaka, Agios Tychonas and Ypsonas. The Limassol project began in February 2007 and means that Green Dot Cyprus’ recycling programme now covers 250,000 of the population.

By the middle of 2008, Green Dot’s programme aims to expand to the remaining municipalities of greater Nicosia, covering an additional 150,000 people. The Minister of Agriculture also recently approached Green Dot to discuss the expansion of the recycling programme to the Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta districts.

In the areas that the programme covers, paper is collected twice a week on a door-to-door basis. PMD (plastic bottles and trays, metal and cartons) is collected on a weekly door-to-door basis, while glass is picked up from the designated collection points.

For glass, there is one collection point for every 600 people and bins are placed outside hotels, restaurants, parks and shopping centres.

When the project was launched last year, Limassol Mayor Andreas Christou stressed the need for the public’s active participation if the programme was to work.

“The success of this initiative depends on the conscious participation of the citizens. The project’s success benefits primarily the citizens, health, the environment and our economy,” he pointed out.

“No matter how much we do, no matter how much we expand the project, no matter how many factories we build to treat recycled matter, we won’t have achieved anything unless we can convince people that something has to change today,” Christou added.