City Friends Club, a non-profit organization in Cyprus, has been leading daily street cleanings since March 2022. What changes have these efforts sparked?
«Daily street cleaning isn't driven by volunteers; it involves dedicated work crews», - explained founder and CEO of City Friends Club Anna Gubareva. Due to this program specifically trained workers have already cleared areas such as Mesa Geitonia, Agios Athanasios, Germasogeia, and currently these days they are going across Limassol Municipalities. In City Friends Club mobile app residents of Limassol can pinpoint areas with litter, which cleanup crews will address in sequential order. The application is designed especially to combat illegal dumping sites in Cyprus.
These teams, comprising 15 members in total, achieved significant progress in waste management. Their combined efforts led to the collection of 51.5 tons of recyclable and non-recyclable bulky waste, alongside 33 tons of general waste. Moreover, they gathered 10 tons of plastic bottles, metal packaging, and drink cartons, contributing to reducing environmental impact. Additionally, they tended to 185 parks. These accomplishments were made possible through the support of sponsors like The Island School, Nexters Inc, Exness Global Limited, EasyBrain, and others.
City Friends Club doesn't solely focus on clean-up; education and community awareness are integral parts of their mission. Their aim is to educate people about proper garbage disposal and recycling on the island. Through diverse educational programs, they strive for widespread awareness and engagement in keeping the environment clean.
Their initiative, Coffee Friends Club, targets the reduction of disposable cup usage across Cyprus. Additionally, the Green Office project works towards enhancing environmental sustainability in various companies by evaluating offices based on specific criteria. The organization's eco-consultants offer recommendations to promote a greener approach, advocating reduced paper and plastic usage among other measures.
Aside from these, the organization hosts various events such as Trash Talks, eco-art exhibitions like Re:Source and NYX5R, the street art festival Revive, and participated in the Youth Tech Festival 2023. Moreover, volunteers collaborate with City Friends Club, contributing to cleaning remote beaches and other areas.
From several locations, with common overall coordinated work with the municipalities of Limassol, 97 tons of garbage were removed, which made it possible for volunteers to collect the remaining garbage. After that 1600 volunteers participated in 37 clean-up events. Together, they responsibly disposed of 39 tonnes of bulky waste, 2484 bags of general waste, and 1783 bags of plastic, metal, and drink cartons. This initiative exemplifies the impact of community-driven action in creating a cleaner, more sustainable environment.
