Can you be so environmentally friendly that you completely reduce your waste rate? Tilos, a small Greek island, is about to do this: it is the first zero waste area in the world, thanks to a special synergy between citizens and the help of a company that wants to change our planet for the better. Let’s go and discover this true paradise that boasts amazing record (and absolutely worth imitating).
Tilos, a zero-waste island
The island of Tilos, also called Piscopi, is located immersed in the waters of the Aegean Sea and belongs to the Dodecanese archipelago. It is little more than a plot of land where around 750 people live: this has probably made the task easier for Polygreen, a Greek company specializing in the circular economy, which has decided to carry out its ambitious experiment here. And the results are phenomenal: the island is becoming the first to be waste-free all over the world and almost completely avoids waste.
How? It is a Project as simple as it is interesting: Each citizen was provided with a set of trash cans, a bag for organic waste and a pack for cigarettes, so that the entire population was trained in the correct division of waste into “recyclable”, “organic” and “non-recyclable”. Almost anything that is thrown away (carefully, of course) can be given a new life. Organic waste is created Compost for the soilWhat cannot be reconverted is dried and crushed to be converted into fuel for cement kilns.
This is how the residents of Tilos can today avoid landfills – the one on the island is now closed – and only 12.6% of their waste is not yet recycled. But Polygreen is confident it can reach even 5% to make this Greek paradise even more environmentally sustainable. The secret of this success? The collaboration of citizens who were also involved thanks to an app that made this possible Monitor the amount of trash manufactured and recycled properly.
Because Tilos is always greener
This small island in Greece is a real one Example of a green company, which will serve as a model for emulation in other parts of the world. In fact, Tilos has been committed to reducing the impact of its residents on nature for years: in 2017 it installed a solar park and a wind turbine and immediately afterwards built a battery storage system for the days when sun and wind are not available. Only two years later the island reached the complete energy self-sufficiencythat meets 100% of the needs of its population.
Now Polygreen is celebrating Tilos’ new success and almost completely destroying its own Production of non-recyclable waste. The Greek company is actually considering re-proposing the project elsewhere, with the aim of Abu Dhabi. Of course, it will be much more difficult in a place where the population is much larger and is not partially isolated from the rest of the world, as only a small island can be. But if we can involve the residents and make them aware of the importance of this initiative, then we will be able to be successful again.