Zero waste practices are here to stay

By Anastasia Korae 

The Paris Olympic Games are approaching with world records expected to be broken by elite athletes. A number of other positive records are also expected to be broken since, for the first time, there will be equal places for male and female athletes, 100 per cent renewable energy, half the carbon footprint of previous Olympic Games and zero waste to landfill.

The latter entails bold and decisive action on what seems to be an unprecedented scale through the following measures:

1. Coca-Cola, a major sponsor of the games, has been forced by the organisers to sell its products in reusable glass bottles rather than single-use plastic ones and to install 200 dispensers (taps) for its products (like the ones used in Cyprus for beer in private or public events or in fast food outlets).
2. A company named “Re-uz” will be an official sponsor of the games and will be responsible for distributing, collecting and washing reusable cups and food containers.
3. At the “Marathon pour Tous” (Marathon for All), with 50,000 participants, there will be no single-use bottles or cups for water and other refreshments. Reusable containers will be used, and 17 drinking water stations will be installed.
4. In the fan zones where fans will gather to watch games on big screens and party with music and food/drinks, no company will be allowed to offer products in non-reusable packaging.

These four measures go well beyond recycling or simply banning certain single-use plastics and focus, rather, on preventing several types of waste from being generated and ending in landfill. 

Our celebrations and large-scale events are tiny compared to the Olympics, but they are indeed comparable when it comes to waste policies. In Cyprus, we are, unfortunately, nowhere near being so ambitious when trying to reduce waste and promote reuse. In fact, we are not even in a position to implement the legally binding “Polluter Pays” principle, since corporations are not forced to collect their recyclables and contribute to awareness raising and cleanliness during concerts and other public events.

And while our legislation is proving ineffective and – to a large extent – inadequate, the private sector in Cyprus has admittedly not caught up with European trends in the sense that companies like Re-uz are not yet offering an alternative service that can wholly replace disposable drinking cups and food containers.

However, private initiatives and civil society are working together for waste prevention and reuse, with support from local authorities. For example, on July 4-7, 2024, Friends of the Earth will collaborate with Afrobanana Festival taking place in Lefkara village to promote a new sustainable way to attend events.

Afrobanana has been implementing numerous sustainability practices over the years, such as a refillable cup policy, a no-straws policy, generating electricity from renewable energy sources, and generally embracing a philosophy of using fewer resources. This year, they are taking it one step further by adopting a more holistic waste strategy.

More specifically, a team of volunteers will be responsible for applying a “nudging” strategy to encourage attendants to properly dispose of their waste and facilitate separate collection. Moreover, Friends of the Earth will host one of the interactive workshops, off stage, titled “Unwrap your Future”.

The workshop will cover topics like wishful recycling, the waste hierarchy and will also involve a waste audit. According to Sara Mariza Vryonidi, project manager at Friends of the Earth, “this is a great example of how zero waste events can benefit the local community and be agents of change to combat the effects of plastic pollution and the climate crisis. We are grateful for ‘ERIC’ project that is helping us develop customized Plastic Prevention Plans (PPP) with collaborations between local authorities and the private sector.”

Paris’ measures may seem far-fetched for Cypriot reality but we have no option but to head down that path. The fires in illegal landfills and recycling plants, the widespread littering phenomenon, the situation at the scandal-ridden waste management plant at Pentakomo, the decades of failed government policies, and the unmet European targets are compelling us to rethink our relationship with resources and work smart for waste prevention, separate collection and proper management.

And there’s no denying that Afrobanana offers a glimmer of hope by doing precisely that.  

Anastasia Korae is president of the board at Friends of the Earth Cyprus and a founding member of Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus