Union of Cyprus municipalities chairman Andreas Vyras on Thursday warned that plans to transfer responsibility for waste management are “completely catastrophic”.

In a letter to the House interior committee, he said the move would place a “huge financial burden” on municipalities.

“It would leave them shouldering the financial burden of waste collection, without having the possibility of utilising waste as a source of income,” he added.

He went on to say that it is “recognised across the world that waste constitutes a valuable, wealth-producing source” and that “a good example of this is in Sweden”, which imports refuse from abroad to burn it and generate energy.

“With the suggested law, we will give this wealth away to district governments, depriving the municipalities of a potential source of income and burdening them with what will be an unbearable weight,” he said.

District governments are, according to the current laws, set to take over the running of waste management in 2027, though it has been reported that many district governments are keen to take on that responsibility from municipalities sooner than the planned handover date.

Newspaper Phileleftheros wrote in September last year that the Paphos district government had already submitted a request to the interior ministry to take over the running of waste management in the district, with a meeting on the matter reportedly having taken place in August.