MUNICIPAL MAINTENANCE UPHOLDS HIGH STANDARDS ACROSS CYPRUS
Local municipalities across Cyprus constantly conduct large-scale community clean-up operations with a view to maintaining high standards across the island. Municipal crews, as a result, often remove bulky waste, repair cracks in the roads, trim trees, clean graffiti from road signs, and refresh benches, bins, and playgrounds with a fresh coat of paint.
Although Cyprus municipalities rely on a combination of local tax revenues, national government subsidies, and European Union funds, their operations still rely heavily on financial support from the central state. Recent sweeping legislation has also seen some municipalities merge, and this has helped to create regional administrative restructuring that has allowed them to streamline their services and cut overhead costs.
In light of this, municipalities across the island are maintained and funded via the following key mechanisms
Central Government Subsidies: The central government provides substantial annual grants and special development funds to all municipalities. These are distributed based on population, voter count, and the specific financial needs of each council.
Local Taxation: Municipalities also collect their own revenues through property and local business taxes. They also rely on various licensing or permit fees.
European Investment: Local councils also partner with the Union of Cyprus Municipalities to utilise European Union grants and loans. These funds are generally earmarked for urban regeneration, green transitions, and sustainable development.
A SHINING EXAMPLE OF COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Cyprus currently enjoys a thriving volunteer cleanup scene that is driven by several local charities, NGOs, and global campaigns. Offering a ‘fell good’, several participants agree that joining a beach sweep or urban cleanup campaign is a great way to meet people, as well as directly help protect the island’s environment.
LOCAL NGO'S & GRASSROOTS GROUPS
THE CITY FRIENDS CLUB
The City Friends Club is an eco-charity based primarily in Limassol. This organisation coordinates full-time daily street sweeping as well as monthly community volunteer cleanups.
KEEP OUR SAND & SEA PLASTIC FREE
Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free is an initiative by the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative and the TUI Care Foundation. They run frequent, large-scale beach cleanups targeting coastal regions and engage tourism businesses in zero-waste practices.
UNFICYP
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus occasionally leads environmental and peace-building programs, bringing young people from diverse backgrounds together to clean beaches and nature trails.
THE MAIN VOLUNTEER CLEANUP PROGRAMS
Let's Do It! Cyprus
The Let’s Do It! Cyprus campaign is part of the island’s largest volunteer cleanup operation. Usually running during autumn, the event rallies thousands of volunteers who carry out mass island-wide cleanup operations that comb beaches, parks, and city streets.
Potavristou
Potavristou is a wildly popular Cyprus-led campaign, which is organised by the AKTI Project and Research Centre. It mobilises thousands of volunteers to clean both coastlines and inland areas.
The City Friends Club
The City Friends Club is a non-profit organisation that organises monthly volunteer-led clean-up missions all over the City of Limassol. Their overall aim is to improve urban spaces by actively cleaning different spaces every month.
MONTHLY VOLUNTEER-LED MISSIONS
This organisation, which is solely dependent on donations to support the work of its cleaners, helps to create a more beautiful and cleaner city. Each volunteer helps to collect all kinds of unwanted refuse at pre-designated public locations, and this breathes new life into every corner of the city. Each volunteer surrenders a few hours a month not only for a rewarding experience but also for one that fills them with a sense of pride.
A GROUP PHOTO
Volunteers often collect all types of discarded refuse and litter. This includes cans, water bottles, cigarette butts, and various food packaging. A pre-selected area is divided into smaller patches. Each patch is then given to volunteers who are issued with trash bags, trash pickers and heavy-duty gloves. Once these trash bags are filled, they then return to the central meeting point. Organisers and volunteers then gather for a group photo next to all the waste they have collected on the day. This acts as an accomplished award for each volunteer.
THE CITY FRIENDS CLUB APP
Further information is available about the schemes run by the CITY FRIENDS CLUB in Limassol. This can be done by downloading their smartphone application, available on all major smartphone platforms. Once downloaded, groups can organise clean-ups and then photograph the results. These images can then be uploaded to the application. Prizes for active participation are always available, and users can swipe left for ‘before’ and right for ‘after’ photos of locations that have been cleaned. These images vividly demonstrate how effective the CITY FRIENDS CLUB app is with its active users.
