Lefke Municipality has launched a clean-up campaign in Yörükköy, next to the village of Yeşilırmak, in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Civil Defence Organisation.
As part of the clean-up campaign, some 30 lorry-loads of rubbish were removed from Yörükköy, consisting of waste dumped haphazardly in the open by villagers since 2008.
The work, carried out by teams formed at the request of the Yeşilırmak Village Administration at the rubbish site on the Yeşilırmak–Pirgo main road, continued throughout Wednesday. The clean-up work carried out by the teams was warmly welcomed by local residents.
Yeşilırmak headman İsmet Özpolat explained that the waste site, used until 2008 before the area was incorporated into the municipality, had been cleaned by the municipality, but that villagers had continued to dump rubbish and waste there illegally.
Stating that the campaign had removed a rubbish tip that created an unsightly appearance and bad smell in the area, Özpolat thanked the institutions and individuals who supported the campaign. Noting that a waste pit had been created at the village entrance next to the football pitch in cooperation with Lefke Municipality, and that the municipality had asked residents to use it for waste arising outside collection days, Özpolat said the municipality had placed a “no dumping” sign in the cleaned area and that the village administration would take measures to prevent access to the site.
The campaign will continue. According to information received, Lefke Municipality, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Civil Defence Organisation will continue to clean areas that create an unsightly appearance and bad smell in response to requests received.
It was reported that dumping waste without permission carries a penalty of between half the minimum wage and one minimum wage, and that a fine will be imposed if unauthorised dumping is seen or reported to the relevant departments.
