Larnaca overwhelmed by illegal rubbish tips

Rubbish tips are popping up around Larnaca, with the Greens having spotted dozens in the Koshi state forest and along the old Nicosia-Larnaca road.

Following up on a complaint received from a hunter, the Greens found dumps with all sorts of items, including home appliances, hygiene installations and garden and construction waste.

Lefteris Lambrou, from the Greens’ Larnaca branch, told Phileleftheros that the dumps seemed to have been there for a long time.

“The debris, for example, appears to have been in the area for years but no one has shown an interest in removing it,” Lambrou said.

He added that measures must be taken to clean up the areas and prevent dumping in the future.

“We expect the authorities to move immediately to clean up each site,” he said.

Lambrou added that the state and parliament should make penalties harsher, to discourage dumping.

The Greens sent details of the rubbish tips to the environment department, the Larnaca district administration and the environment commissioner.

Theodoulos Mesimers from the environment department said that instructions had been given to visit the areas pointed out and clear them.

Some of the illegal rubbish tips were in protected areas, which now run the risk of environmental devastation.