Circular Economy in Cyprus | Past, Present and Future

On 14 May 2025, we organized a seminar at the University of Nicosia on the past, present, and future of circular economy in Cyprus. We are very grateful to our two speakers, Dr. Yaron J. Balslev and Anthi Charalambous, whose insightful presentations sparked a lively discussion on the challenges of managing waste sustainably and the lessons we can learn from history.

Dr. Balslev’s presentation highlighted commonalities in waste management practices during British rule across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. He explained in detail the British strategies for addressing the issue, including how the first dumpsite in Nicosia was established. With procedures such as sorting waste and selling compost to farmers, early attempts at a circular economy were already underway in the 1940s.

Building on this historical foundation, and with a small leap in time, Anthi Charalambous provided a detailed overview of the current situation. She pointed out that 75% of municipal waste is still disposed of through landfilling, and only 39% of plastic packaging waste is recycled. Nevertheless, she also highlighted promising reforms and initiatives, such as the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and the National Plan for the Circular Economy. Of particular importance for achieving sustainable waste management are “Pay As You Throw” (PAYT) schemes, which shift the responsibility of sorting waste back to the source—improving reuse, recycling, and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic, we recommend to check out our website for Anthi’s recently published report, "Towards sustainable waste management in Cyprus”, , written in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the seminar and contributed to such an engaging discussion!