First island with zero waste

The innovative “Just Go Zero Tilos” programme of Polygreen Ltd., which made Tilos, the first zero waste island has completed one year of successful operation. Up until 2021, Tilos produced around 600 tonnes of municipal solid waste per year, of which only 10% was recycled, while the national target by 2025 is set at 55%. From the beginning of 2022 to date, 350 tonnes of materials have been recycled and prevented from being dumped in the islands landfill which is now inactive. Tilos marks the first island to achieve 100% diversion from landfill with an 87% recycling rate. Following discussions and consultations on how best to implement it, special equipment was distributed to the remote island’s 400 residents and business owners door-to-door to facilitate the separation of materials into three categories: organic, recyclable and non-recyclable. Materials are collected by electric vehicles that pass by each house three times a week and by businesses daily to pick up the waste, which is taken to the Cyclic Innovation Centre, the biotechnological processing and management centre that has replaced the old landfill.