Summary

The municipality of Apokoronas is proposing to install CCTV cameras at ten locations where illegal dumping has become a persistent problem. Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis has brought the proposal to the Municipal Council, backed by a technical study and a full data protection impact assessment. The system will operate without audio recording and will not cover private property — but anyone caught dumping illegally on camera can expect to face consequences.

Apokoronas targets illegal dumping with CCTV cameras at ten problem spots

Apokoronas municipality is taking a firm step against illegal dumping, with Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis proposing the installation of CCTV cameras at ten locations across the area where rubbish is repeatedly left in public spaces without authorisation.

A problem that keeps coming back

For years, certain spots in Apokoronas have functioned as unofficial rubbish tips. Municipal workers clean them up — and within days or weeks, the same sites fill up again. According to the mayor, every other available approach has already been tried and has failed. The cost to the municipality — and ultimately to local taxpayers — keeps mounting.

How the camera system will work

The proposed system is described as targeted and proportionate. Key details include:

Number of locations: 10 identified problem sites across the municipality

Audio recording: none

Coverage: limited to public space only — no private property recorded

Access to footage: strictly controlled

Data retention: kept only for the minimum time necessary

Legal basis: a technical study and a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) have already been prepared and will be presented to the council

The council must vote

The Municipal Council of Apokoronas will need to vote on whether to approve the installation and operation of the system. All required documentation is already in place. Mayor Koukianakis has called on councillors to treat the matter seriously and not to turn a practical cleanliness issue into a political football.

What this means for residents

For the vast majority of residents who already dispose of their rubbish correctly, nothing changes. The cameras are targeted exclusively at the ten spots with a documented history of illegal dumping. Anyone who continues to dump rubbish illegally at these locations risks being identified on camera and facing legal action.

The mayor was direct in his closing message: Apokoronas deserves a clean environment, order, and respect — and the municipality will use every legal tool available to achieve that, without compromise.

PRESS RELEASE – Cameras at 10 locations in Apokoronas for the protection of cleanliness and public space

September 29, 2026, 7:27 AM

A targeted video surveillance system at 10 locations where repeated illegal waste dumping has been recorded.

The cleanliness of Apokoronas cannot be a field for petty political agendas — it is a matter of daily life, public space, the environment, and respect towards the citizens who pay and demand a clean municipality.

For this reason, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, is proposing to the Municipal Council the installation of a targeted video surveillance system (CCTV) at ten specific locations where repeated illegal waste dumping has been observed.

The proposal is accompanied by the required technical study and a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and provides for full compliance with applicable legislation.

As the Mayor stated, cleanliness does not lend itself to petty politics; the municipality's workers fight a difficult battle every day, and it is not possible for their efforts to be undone by those who persist in turning shared spaces into uncontrolled dumping grounds.

The municipality cleans, cleans again, and pays again and again at the locations where repeated illegal waste dumping is recorded. Every other suitable means of addressing the specific problem has been exhausted. This situation cannot continue.

This is an entirely targeted measure, at specific locations where the problem is recurring and proven.

While some choose to make cleanliness a field of political confrontation, we choose to provide solutions — the process will proceed with absolute institutional and legal order. The Municipal Council is called upon to decide on the installation and operation of the system, having at its disposal the technical study and the DPIA.

The system will operate with a limited field of view, without audio recording and without recording private spaces, while access to the material will be strictly controlled and the retention of data will be limited to the absolutely necessary time, in accordance with the regulations.

The Mayor also addresses a message to the Municipal Council:

Municipal Councillors are called upon to rise to the occasion, without complaints, without petty political confrontations, and without turning a real problem into an object of political exploitation.

Our responsibility is to Apokoronas and its people. When a problem exists, we do not settle for merely commenting on it — we address it, and we address it with legality, transparency, and determination.

In closing, the Mayor of Apokoronas noted:

"Citizens who respect their place have the municipality by their side; however, those who persist in acting unlawfully must know that there are now specific measures in place for the protection of public space — we will not allow the indifference or possible deliberateness of the few to undo the efforts of the many.

Apokoronas deserves a clean environment, order, and respect — and for this we will do everything the law provides, without concessions and without second thoughts."