Forty foreigners clean a beach in Limassol for free. A rubbish pile next to Katerina’s home in Nicosia is cleared only after three emails. And a bin area at her building takes two hours and €20 to clean by hand. The video tries all three ways to deal with rubbish in Cyprus.
Way 1: a cleanup day at Lady’s Mile
Lady’s Mile only looks clean: the wind pushes bottles, cans and plastic between the breakwater rocks. The cleanup in the video was organised by City Friends Club.
According to Cyprus Mail (15 September 2026), City Friends Club has cleaned the streets of Limassol every day since 2021, with 6 trucks and 15 cleaners, and runs volunteer cleanups in several cities. After the February 2026 carnival, more than 500 volunteers came and, together with the municipal services, removed 50 tonnes of rubbish (Kiprinform).
The sorting rules at the cleanup:
- one clear bag for clear plastic;
- one clear bag for cans;
- the blue bag for everything else;
- glass separately;
- fill bags to about 80%.
Everyone gets a certificate at the end. Many people come to show they take part in island life.
Volunteering and Cypriot citizenship
Volunteering is not one of the official naturalisation criteria in the 2023 law. What counts is years of legal residence, Greek (B1, A2 for some applicants) and an exam on Cyprus’s political and social life (European Commission, Home Affairs, 6 March 2024; Cyprus Mail, 22 March 2024). A certificate is a plus to your story, not a box you tick. This is not legal advice: check the current rules with the Cyprus Ministry of Interior or a lawyer.
Way 2: write to the municipality
A pile of construction and household rubbish sat next to Katerina’s home for almost six months. On 11 August she wrote to the municipality in Greek, with photos. They replied the next day and promised to clear it by the end of August, but didn’t. On 26 September she wrote again, and by 6 October the place was clean.
The lesson: if nothing happens, write again. It is slow, but heavy construction waste is not something you can move yourself.
Way 3: clean it up yourself
The bin area at her building was buried in rubbish left by short-term tenants in the wrong bags, and the municipality doesn’t collect those. A roll of 10 purple 56-litre bags cost €20, or €2 a bag. From 7 to 8 am she filled 6 bags of rubbish and 2 bags of plastic; the whole job took less than two hours. Then she planted a bougainvillea in the yard.
How to join the next cleanup
- Katerina’s Telegram channel: t.me/bletsch. If enough people join, there will be an expats.cy cleanup too.
- City Friends Club: its app, Facebook and Telegram list regular cleanups in different cities.
Frequently asked questions
Does volunteering count towards Cypriot citizenship?
No. Volunteering is not one of the official naturalisation criteria in the 2023 law. A cleanup certificate is a plus to your story, not a requirement. This is not legal advice.
How do I join a cleanup in Cyprus?
City Friends Club runs regular volunteer cleanups in several cities and announces them in its app, on Facebook and on Telegram.
How much do rubbish bags cost in the video?
A roll of 10 purple 56-litre bags cost €20, or €2 a bag, at the time of filming.
Source and further viewing
Video and subtitles — YouTube, 2026-10-18. Russian audio track: Settings → Audio track → Russian.
Japan clip in the video: “THIS is why Japan is SO CLEAN!” by Sensei Shorts, CC BY. Music: “Song of Mirrors” by Unicorn Heads (YouTube Audio Library).