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Five-hundred-and-fifty-three thousand tons of solid waste was collected by municipalities across the island in 2005, an increase of two point five per cent on the previous year (539,000 tons), the Statistical Services has reported.
Since 1996, the amount of municipal waste has increased by a massive 31 per cent. From the amount generated in 2005, 88.4 per cent was delivered to landfills and the remaining 11.6 per cent is estimated to have been collected for recycling.
The per capita generation of municipal solid waste in Cyprus during 2005 reached 730kg and is one of the highest in the European Union, where an average amount of 518kg is generated by each inhabitant.
Sixty-four thousand tons were recycled, of which metals accounted for 48,000 tons. As for the remaining materials, of which paper makes up the bulk (150,000 tons out of the 553,000 total), there is scope for increasing the amount set aside for recycling. Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that, "we have a culture of buying things in Cyprus and consumers are not given different offers on packaging as seen in other countries."
He added that companies are, "putting goods on the market without worrying about the packaging used. They need to use simpler and more biodegradable packaging. Anybody that puts packaged products on the market must be responsible for recycling them."
Under EU law, any company that produces over five tons of packaging waste must recover 50 per cent of it and recycle 25 per cent of it. Most companies cannot fulfil these obligations so increasing numbers are joining the Green Dot initiative, which collects and recycles an equivalent amount of waste from consumers. | 
