The fire that broke out last Sunday at the EU-funded Koutsoventis waste site in the north has brought a sharp focus on the serious environmental and public health issues facing the island as a whole, with analysts warning that toxic clouds do not respect ceasefire lines.
The recurring fires at Koutsoventis – two in the last three months alone, each time, releasing a toxic plume of heavy metals and other toxins that travel whichever way the wind takes them – demand holistic action.
When last Sunday’s fire broke out, not only were local residents covered by the toxic plume, but the wind also brought it for a few hours over a number of days south of the ceasefire line. However, no official warnings were sent, no advice given to residents in the affected areas, while the new emergency notification system recently set up was not utilised.
Apart from the need for a permanent solution, the two communities can take joint steps now to properly manage the risk, say experts. The Technical Committee on the Environment is expected to propose the establishment of mobile units to measure pollutants on site. In turn, the relevant authorities would be expected to act on the scientific data and warn the public accordingly to take immediate action, such as staying indoors or evacuating areas if needed.
Chronicle of a failed project
Work on the Koutsoventis Solid Waste Storage Facility started in 2012 but due to overuse, a second phase extending the site was launched in 2018. The European Commission sought to provide the Turkish Cypriot community with a modern waste management system that would replace the large and problematic dumpsite at Dikomo.
Through EU funding, the site was provided with the capacity to collect landfill gas and burn it in a way that could be used to create energy, as well as treat the leachate created by the waste.
However, consistently poor management by private operators and lack of effective oversight has led to the waste not being treated properly, with each layer of waste not being covered by soil, the gas created not being collected, the leachate not being treated, and the site essentially turning into another massive dumping ground.
So, when the temperature rises, it is very easy for this gas to ignite and then burn the combustible waste on site. The surface fire is visible and can be tackled more easily, but the fire that smoulders below can go on for weeks undetected, all the while emitting compounds in the air such as carbon monoxide, carbon particles, heavy metals, and dioxins.
Local residents have long complained that fires start every year at Koutsoventis. The impact not only concerns the air we breathe, but also risks contaminating groundwater, surface water, wildlife, and agriculture.
EU suspends investment in waste projects
The situation is partly due to limited financial resources to operate the facility properly. But some argue it is also down to lack of accountability, based on the fact there is no real international oversight for what goes on in the north, even for an EU-funded project, once it has been completed. Others raise the issue of a lack of data, arguing that the landfill has reached breaking point so quickly due to uncontrolled population flows to the north.
As a result of failure to implement agreed standards, the Commission eventually stopped investing in the waste sector some years ago. The Turkish Cypriots now depend on Turkey to invest in the waste sector and rectify the deteriorating situation, with the Turkish Environment Minister pledging to do so last year.
Poor management
Haber Kıbrıs journalist Hüseyin Ekmekçi, in a social media post on Wednesday, accused the waste site of being “poorly managed,” creating a situation where “our children breathe the toxic smoke produced”.
He argued that the facility “has turned into a monster that constantly burns and emits toxic pollution. Even when we think it has been extinguished, it continues to smoulder underground.”
Ekmekçi called for a thermal map of the site to identify the fire hotspots and ensure each one is completely extinguished.
He called for the gas collection system to be brought back into operation, the leachate ponds and treatment system to be repaired, and for permanent air-quality monitoring devices to be installed.
“The pollution spreading from the site must be measured on a regular basis. The results should be disclosed to the public daily. People should not simply be told that ‘the fire is under control’. They should also be informed about the condition of the air they are breathing,” he wrote.
The Koutsoventis facility “is not merely an environmental problem, it is also a public health problem, a governance problem, an oversight problem,” said Ekmekçi.
He added: “We allowed a facility that cost millions of euros to collapse.”
When another fire broke out at the site in July 2023, one local representative, Hüseyin Amcaoğlu, told Haber Kıbrıs that a facility that was built to world standards, has become an “uncontrolled dumping area” that generates problems, creates tensions with the EU, and led to the Commission suspending funding on environment projects.
Precautionary measures
Co-chair of the Environment Technical Committee Michalis Loizides said on Friday that the toxic plume released by last Sunday’s fire travelled over to the government-controlled areas.
Speaking on Politis Radio’s Defteri Matia, Loizides stressed that the main priority is to prevent people from being continuously exposed to the pollutants over extended periods.
If the smell of burning is strong, he advised residents to remain indoors, close doors and windows and use an air purification system equipped with activated carbon filters.
Public needs to know
The environmental engineer said he will meet with his Turkish Cypriot counterparts next week to discuss setting up a mobile unit to measure hazardous air pollutants. The equipment could be deployed immediately wherever fires break out.
The aim is to establish a specific action plan based on the concentration of hazardous substances detected in the air.
Lower concentrations could trigger a ‘stay indoors’ warning, while for higher readings, authorities could consider temporary evacuations, he said.
Turkish Cypriot civil society groups are also calling for permanent monitoring equipment capable of measuring the most dangerous airborne pollutants, said Loizides, noting that similar equipment is needed in the government-controlled areas.
In short, the public across Cyprus needs to be provided with information about the air they are breathing.
