Ayia Napa is launching an ambitious programme where food waste from hotels and restaurants will be used to produce bio-gas-fuelled electricity.
The effort is part of an EU programme to reduce waste at coastal hotels. It is to be implemented in the popular coastal resort as from next week and follows the signing of an agreement with Cypra Bionergy which will collect and process the refuse.
Ayia Napa municipality said that in the next few days 70 organic waste compressors given for this purpose by the Environment Service of the Agriculture Ministry will begin operation. These will be placed in hotels, restaurants and other catering establishments to collect food waste. The organic waste will then be transferred to a processing unit to produce bio-gas that will be used to produce electricity.
The initiative is part of efforts to divert organic waste from landfills, to meet recycling targets set by the EU and to make possible the closure of the Kotsiatis land fill. Use of organic waste also helps reduce carbon emissions.
Ayia Napa mayor Yiannis Karouzos said his municipality was the first to introduce such an important recycling programme of the Environment Service. “With this agreement, Ayia Napa Municipality will greatly contribute to the Republic of Cyprus achieving its targets and avoiding an EU fine, making it an even greener municipality,” he said.
The municipality already collects 1200 tons of recyclable materials and aims to raise this to 5000 with the organic waste. The mayor said that Paralimni and Larnaca Municipalities are also participating in phase one of the programme with the remaining tourist areas due to join phase two
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