In Cyprus it is difficult to drive down a road or walk along a trail without encountering a plastic bottle, an old bag or a faded tin can. Garbage has become part of the landscape, almost as familiar as pine trees and rocks. Sometimes it seems that it just grows out of the ground by itself. But of course this is not true.
For first-time visitors to Cyprus, especially from countries where clean public spaces and recycling have long been part of the culture, the contrast is striking. Garbage along the roads, spontaneous landfills in nature, plastic cups in the forest and on beaches are not an accident, but a symptom of a deeper problem. Cyprus lacks environmental awareness. People are accustomed to perceiving nature as a background for life, but not as a living system for which everyone is responsible.
Why do people litter? There are many reasons for this. One of them is historical and cultural. For many decades, Cypriots lived in a rural, traditional culture where waste was mostly organic. Everything was processed naturally: food became animal feed, branches and leaves became fuel. The modern “plastic civilization” came too quickly, but the habits remained the same.
The second reason is a lack of understanding of the consequences. No one feels that a discarded bottle by the roadside actually causes harm. After all, it doesn’t bother you right now – neither you nor your neighbor. The awareness that every small action shapes the overall appearance of the country is almost undeveloped in Cyprus.
The third is a lack of infrastructure. Bins and containers for sorting waste are often hard to find, especially outside cities. But even where they exist, not everyone uses them for their intended purpose.
Once every few months, Cypriot NGOs and volunteers organize events: they clean beaches, mountain trails, and roadsides. These events bring people together into communities, create a friendly atmosphere and set an example. However, this is a reactive measure, a fight against the consequences, not the cause. Without changing the culture of behavior, no amount of cleaning will save you. Tomorrow new bottles and bags will appear in the same place.
The state should rely not only on cleaning, but also on preventive measures - fines, educational campaigns, sorting and recycling infrastructure. Cyprus deserves to be clean. However, while plastic waste is blown by the wind through eucalyptus groves, it accumulates near the shore and poisons the fertile soil. And this is not just an aesthetic problem - it is a matter of respect for the land where we live.
