One of the core competencies of the Municipalities, which stems from the Municipalities Law, is the collection of household waste and their appropriate disposal, as well as the protection of the environment and the good appearance of the Municipalities.
Within this framework, Municipalities undertake the management of household waste, which includes door-to-door collection of household and commercial premises, garden waste and various bulky items. For this purpose, periodic cleaning campaigns are organized. Municipalities also undertake the cleaning of public roads and public areas.
At the same time, Municipalities enter into partnership agreements with organizations / bodies that represent companies on the basis of the extended producer responsibility, such as the collection of packaging waste, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, animal cadavers etc.
An important contribution for safeguarding public health, is the responsibility of 10 Municipalities, which has been assigned by the Food (Control and Sale) Law, under which, official control programs for the hygiene and food safety of specific food business categories are implemented. The European Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene and foodstuffs is relevant.
In addition to the above, the responsibilities of Municipalities extend to other related areas of environmental hygiene. In particular, Municipalities are investigating complaints / nuisances which affect the health, safety and comfort of the citizens and taking measures to solve them. In this context, they take actions to fight harmful insects and rodents (mosquitoes, cockroaches, fleas, mice, etc.), banning the keeping of animals and birds, etc.
Furthermore, Municipalities have the responsibility to impose the Dogs Law, the Public Swimming Pools Law, the Operation of Municipal Markets Law and at the same time, they assist other competent authorities of the State regarding the enforcement of other various Laws, such as the Protection of Health (Tobacco Control) Law, the Water Quality for Human Consumption (Monitoring and Control) Law, etc.
The Union of Cyprus Municipalities, as the coordinating body of the Municipalities, participates in public debates and hearings that are organized by the Department of the Environment, the Environmental Impact Assessment Board, the Environment Commissioner, the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Agriculture and other authorities on all of the above issues and express the views of Municipalities. In many cases we are invited by the relevant Parliamentary Committees to give our views on various issues, whether they concern bills and / or legislative proposals.