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Residents of Pentakomo have experienced a marked reduction in foul odours from the local waste management facility in recent months, following changes to how rubbish is handled. However, significant technical and operational problems remain, with a major upgrade expected to take several years to complete.
Giorgos Oikonomou, president of the Pentakomo Community Council, said conditions had improved considerably over the past three to four months. The change followed the end of a practice under which waste was left at the facility for extended periods before being taken for landfill disposal.
While the reduction in odours has improved daily life for residents, Oikonomou stressed that the facility has yet to return to the level of operation originally intended.
Large volumes of waste continue to be buried without undergoing the full treatment envisaged in the site's original design. Outstanding issues also affect individual parts of the installation, including its biological treatment system.
Oikonomou said continued reliance on landfill disposal could not provide a lasting solution, calling for the facility to be restored so it can operate as intended.
State management follows contract termination
The government is preparing an interim upgrade and operating contract for the Integrated Waste Management Facility, known by its Greek acronym OEDA, at an estimated cost of €62 million.
The state took control of the site on 19 December 2023, after terminating its contract with the previous private operator. The Water Development Department subsequently assumed responsibility for maintaining operations, arranging numerous separate contracts and interventions to address the facility's needs.
More than 180 contracts had been issued by September, according to published figures, reflecting the scale of the operational difficulties faced by the authorities since the change in management.
The planned works include repairing existing landfill areas, building the third phase of the landfill site and restoring the mechanical sorting plant. The programme also provides for improvements to the biological treatment of leachate, the contaminated liquid that drains from waste, as well as the construction of a unit to stabilise the organic portion of rubbish.
The proposed contract is expected to last five years, with an option to extend it by a further two years.
Upgrade works could take three years
The government expects to award the contract during the second half of 2027. Once signed, the planned upgrade works are forecast to take approximately 36 months.
This means the facility's full rehabilitation will remain a long-term undertaking, even if the tender proceeds according to schedule.
The planned contract is an interim measure rather than a final settlement of the site's future. The permanent configuration of Cyprus's waste management infrastructure is expected to be determined through a feasibility study.
For Pentakomo residents, the recent reduction in odours offers some relief after years of disruption. The outstanding challenge is to translate that improvement into a properly functioning facility capable of treating waste as originally intended, rather than continuing to depend heavily on landfill disposal.
