CYPRUS: Limassol village pilot scheme rewards residents who recycle

Ipsonas Municipality, in Limassol, has launched a pilot scheme to reward residents who recycle by offering them a reduction of up to 30% in their annual waste collection fee.

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A mobile application has also been developed, as part of the programme, allowing residents to notify the council once recycling bins are full.

The scheme, which aims to reduce household waste ending up in landfills, starts on 1 October for a period of six months.

Ipsonas Mayor Pantelis Georgiou said that 100 households interested in the scheme will receive two free plastic wheelie bins – one for paper and one for PMD – with a capacity of 110 litres each.

Participants will be rewarded with “units” based on the frequency they recycle, which they can redeem at the end of the year for a 30% discount on garbage collection fees.

When fully operational, the programme will also record data from participating households in order to plan an optimum route for garbage trucks and reduce collection time.

The idea emerged after Ecofy, a start-up company, won the Smart City Hackathon competition organised by Cyta telecoms.

Ipsonas Municipality then approached Ecofy to develop the mobile application.

At the end of the six-month pilot period, the aim is to include more households in the recycling scheme.