Tinos: pilot recycling programme for businesses

The pilot initiative “Tinos Circular Business” has recently launched on Tinos, aiming to boost recycling among the island’s businesses. The programme is initially being implemented in two settlements, Kionia and Agios Fokas, and targets specific categories of businesses. It is part of the Municipality of Tinos’s waste management efforts, at a time when the quantities generated on the island are at their highest point of the year.

Catering, food retail and catering-supply businesses are taking part in the initiative. The goal, as stated, is better utilisation of waste generated during the tourist season, through source collection of materials. The logic of source collection is that materials are separated at the point where they are generated, before mixing with other waste, which significantly increases the chances they will actually end up being recycled rather than disposed of.

“We want the initiative to leave a substantial footprint and to form the basis for the next steps,” said Yiannis Exilzes of the Municipality of Tinos. This statement explicitly places the programme in the context of a pilot, that is, a trial implementation whose results will determine its continuation. The number of participating businesses has not been announced, nor has the duration planned for the pilot phase.

The issue of waste management on the small islands of the Cyclades has a clear seasonal dimension. Quantities generated in July and August multiply, while collection and processing capacity remains constant throughout the year. The result is pressure on collection systems precisely during the period when the island’s image is most exposed. The hospitality and catering sector is where most of this increase is concentrated.

For this reason, source separation in the catering sector is considered the point where the greatest individual benefit can be achieved. A catering business produces relatively homogeneous material flows daily, which makes them easier to separate compared to household waste. The choice of Kionia and Agios Fokas as the first implementation areas allows the system to be tested on a limited geographic scale before any expansion.

Several aspects of the initiative remain open. It has not been made known which specific material streams are being collected, nor how the pilot’s outcome will be measured. It has also not been announced whether and when the programme’s expansion to other settlements on Tinos is planned, nor which bodies are cooperating with the municipality on its implementation. It also remains an open question how businesses will manage the additional space and time requirements during peak season.

The continuation will depend on the results of the pilot phase, which have not yet been announced as the initiative is still ongoing. The reference to “next steps” suggests an intention to continue, though no specific timeline or expansion plan has been given. Until then, the programme functions as a trial of a model that, if it proves effective, could serve as a reference point for other islands with similar characteristics.