15-5-2015ISSUE 4

Cyprus

ENGLISHEDITION

Contents

Dr. Fesas: It is easyto persuade people

to recyclep. 1-2

Law on composting,recycling and

separate collectionto be passed soon

p. 3

Cousins turningwaste materialsinto functional

furniturep. 3

www.rethink.com.cy

It is quite easy to persuade people to recycle and reduce the amount of waste material they produce if the right messages are conveyed to them and if one avoids being ``en-vironmentally sensationalist``, Dr. Yiannis Fesas tells CNA in an inter-view, having been awarded the Green Leader Award at a ceremony orga-nized by Green Dot Cyprus titled “Environmental Awards”.For Dr. Fesas, a chemical engineer by profession, the award came as a huge surprise because although he has been dealing with environmental is-sues all his life, he does not consider himself an active environmentalist, rather an environmentalist by pro-fession.Dr. Fesas has given an interview to CNA and expressed his views, thoughts and suggestions on a vari-

ety of issues such as the reduction of waste produced at home and at the work place, the reduction of costs in the public service, the state devel-opment and growth strategy which focuses on environmental issues, the environmental design of cities and the promotion of environmental cul-ture and awareness among the citi-zens.Asked about his recent award, Dr. Fesas says it is an acknowledgment of the work he has been doing all these years, adding that his activities are taking place in a different context, that of proactive policies and solu-tions of environmental issues within the framework of Cyprus reality, thus the island`s small size and isolation.“We need all sorts of skills and ex-periences in an economy and at a market environment; this is the main

Reduction of waste materialpossible with right messages

INTERVIEW WITH DR. FESAS

Publisher: Cyprus News Agency (CNA)Head of publication: Georgia VasiliouEditor-in-Chief/graphics: Rebekah Gregoriades21, Akademias Avenue, 2107 Aglantzia, CyprusP.O. Box 23947, CY-1687 NicosiaTel. +357-22556000 http://www.cna.org.cyFax+357-22556100 news@cna.org.cy

reason I disagree strongly with all those who demand shutting down small industries and enterprises or transferring them to other lo-cations far from their neighbor-hoods”, he said.The fact that he is the holder of the Green Leader Award to him translates into fighting even hard-er and raising his voice even high-er against “environmental sensa-tionalism”, against the phobia over anything related to chemicals and against the anti-industrial envi-ronment that is being cultivated, with the tolerance of the state it-self and the organizations of the industrialists.Dr. Fesas thinks that state officials and industrialists have their share of responsibility and he calls on them to take action. He is adamant when it comes to development of skills and abilities, pointing out that in Cyprus we are still not able to distinguish between acquisition of knowledge and experience and ways to manage them and thus the young generation just accumulate knowledge but lack experience.Replying to question about envi-ronmental issues in Cyprus, the non implementation of bills and regulations and the absence of penalties for those who break the law, Dr. Fesas attributed this kind of attitude to the lack of structures for development and growth. “All we have managed to do is enlarge the colonial administrative struc-ture and consequently we have

created a state structure that does not assist its citizens, rather it an-noys them,” he said.“The environmental issues Cyprus is faced with do not necessarily refer to solid waste material, but to liquid etc. The problems derive from the fact that town planning and urban development are not right, in addition to omissions”

in this kind of planning, he told CNA.As regard solid waste material, Dr. Fesas believes that the issue is not as complex as it appears, adding that “if we promote the separation and division of waste material at source, we can have waste division and recycle centers in each neigh-borhood instead of having to col-lect the material and transfer it to other plants.”He also said that incentives must be given to the people and reaward their volunteer work by deducting the city council fees and taxes, constructing parks and promoting other projects to their benefit.

Dr. Yiannis Fesas

Dr. Fesas also pointed out that it is extremely important to convey the right messages to the people.In his interview with CNA, he expresses dissatisfaction and bit-terness for the way the state oper-ates concerning particular issues.He spoke of a governmental status quo that many times in the past has undermined any form of diverse ideas or suggestions, pointing out that this short-sighted policy has accumulated lots of problems for the citizens themselves.Asked about the lack of penalties for those who break the law, he said that recently there has been some improvement in this area, however he called on everyone to be extra cautious not to create a police state and impose penalties at the drop of a hat.On environmental awareness and culture in other European coun-tries compared to Cyprus, Dr. Fesas believes that human nature and behavior should not be relat-ed to ethnicity and country of or-igin. He added that what probably differentiates Cyprus to elsewhere is the fact that in many Europe-an countries the authorities have taken action at an early stage and both their actions and rhetoric have some kind of consistency which in Cyprus does not exist.Dr. Fesas strongly believes that with small and simple steps the citizens can be encouraged to re-cycle at home and help reduce the amount of waste material. Such steps include putting more than one rectangular waste bin in the kitchen that do not take much space and separate all the recycla-ble items. He also thinks that each person must have two waste bins in the kitchen for organic and non organic waste material.

Cousins turning waste materialsinto functional

furniture

In an effort to survive the financial crisis and unemploy-ment in Cyprus, two cousins

from Aradippou have turned to something different from their

studies.

They are giving a new lease of life to recyclable materials and

discarded items, creating unique pieces of furniture, such as ta-

bles, cupboards, beds, and even garden furniture.

The two young men are using pallets, car tyres, plumbing

pipes, and recyclable materials to create their unique pieces of furniture and small functional

items.

The two cousins studied in the UK. Minas Patsalos Pavlou studied Product Design and

Minas Patsalos Loucas studied economics and land assessment.

Recently, the two cousins had exhibited their work in Larnaca,

where visitors had asked for more information regarding the

techniques used to make the furniture. Many had also placed

orders.

Cyprus is close to adopting legislation to prevent and reduce organic waste. The Environment Department is already at an advanced stage of drafting the Regulations to be included in the legislation.

Environment Department officer Kalliroi Christophi told CNA that household composting is provided for in the national programme for the prevention of creating waste, which the Department has prepared. In this programme, she said, a measure to reduce organic waste is the promotion by the local authorities of composting at home.

Asked how the scheme would be implemented by the municipali-ties, Christophi said it was a project proposed by the Department for co-funding and has been included in the business programme 2014-2020, concerning the prevention, reduction, separate collection at the source, and utilisation of waste.

“So the municipalities and communities will be able to submit to the Environment Department a comprehensive plan for the management of solid waste. Within these measures, if a municipality or community suggests the promotion of household composting, due to the fact that the equipment is funded through the structural funds, it will be able to secure the funds”, Christophi said and pointed out that the composting bins were not expensive.

Asked about educating citizens about composting, Christophi said the Department was currently working on an education and training pro-gramme with seminars on these issues, which would be addressed to local authorities, households and businesses.

These seminars, she explained, would include all topics of prevention, such as the best practices for preventing the production of waste, or best practices for separate collection at the source, or even best practices for recycling.

Law on composting, recycling and separate collection to be passed soon