Municipalities have voiced their strong opposition to the government’s intention to charge a fee to bury waste, warning that the cost would inevitably be transferred to the public.

The issue was discussed between the Union of Municipalities and the agriculture ministry within the framework of a working group tasked with implementing the Pay as you Throw programme.

Amathus mayor and head of the union’s waste working group Kyriakos Xydias said on Tuesday that municipalities were informed of the proposed fee at the end of last week. Union president and Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras warned that additional charges would be “catastrophic” for municipalities.

“We were informed that the ministry, citing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, intends to submit a proposal to the cabinet to impose a tax on the burial of waste,” Xydias said.

The union, he pointed out, did not agree with this fee and that the state itself should deal with the problem.

The state, he explained, manages the Pentakomo waste unit, where around 80 per cent of waste is currently buried, despite the fact that a comprehensive waste management plan should limit burial to just 20 per cent.

The matter will be raised at the union’s executive committee, Xydias said, adding: “We will react strongly.”

Xydias sent a clear message to the government that the union did not agree with the fee.

He warned that the government’s waste management planning would significantly increase costs and criticised the environment department for failing to inform the public of what he described as imminent and sharp increases in charges.

“It is a tax that is charged on the total waste volumes and is a heavy burden for every household,” he said.

Xydias called on the state to assume its responsibilities and be transparent with citizens about the higher charges they are likely to face. “Neither ‘bad mayors’ nor local government reform are to blame,” he said.

Vyras echoed the concern, warning that municipalities would ultimately be blamed for the increases.

“We are not responsible for this,” he said, adding: “We cannot endure this, either financially or politically.”

Referring to the Pay as you Throw programme, Vyras said it could not be properly implemented if fundamental shortcomings have not been sorted out.

Xydias noted that when the programme was designed, organic waste was meant to be separated and processed because of its value. However, he said, no such processing units have been established.

Both the gate fee for the organic waste and the burial fee are “unacceptable” and the result of “bad management”, he added.