Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese and the fourth in Greece with an area of 1.401,46 km2. Administratively, Rhodes is the capital of the prefecture of Dodecanese. With the implementation of Kallikratis (N3852 / 2010- GRE87A / 7-6-2010) the island became a Municipality with ten Municipalities, sixteen municipalities, twenty-seven local communities and ten settlements.
The Municipality of Rhodes has an area of 1,400 sq. Km. and a population of 115,490 inhabitants (Population Census 2011), with the Municipality of Rhodes Municipality gathering 44% (50,636 inhabitants) of the population in an area corresponding to 1.46% of the area of the island.
Rhodes has a 2400 year history. All the different peoples who have lived in Rhodes have left their mark on all sides of the island’s culture: art, language, architecture. The Medieval Town of Rhodes is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
The economy of the island is mainly based on tourism. Nearly 75% of the active population is employed in the tertiary sector and in tourist activities. Rhodes has been recognized for decades as an international tourist destination.
The Municipality of Rhodes has a long experience in the implementation of national and European programs. In particular, through its departments, it studies, plans and proposes the implementation of programs and actions in national and co-financed projects and ensures the implementation of the procedures for the integration of projects and actions of the Municipality into development and other programs (projects co-financed by the EU, EU programs, national programs, etc.).
The Municipality of Rhodes is one of the first tourist destinations in Greece, with millions of visitors each year, with targeted environmental actions in the implementation of a standard environmental program for sorting, recycling and reuse of materials, with the emphasis on promoting environmental policy and sustainable development.
The local project of the Municipality of Rhodes aims at the development of an integrated waste management plan of the Municipality of Rhodes, which includes the implementation of programs for the optimization of the collection system, the reduction of waste generation, the sorting at the source, the recycling of the separated materials, transhipment systems to increase the cost-effectiveness of the system, the use of processing methods to exploit or re-use the materials, residues in landfills (CYTW) and finally actions to inform, educate and raise awareness among citizens.
With the implementation of European management standards and the above actions, Rhodes has entered a new era in the field of environmental protection, acquiring a strong environmental identity, providing high quality services to its citizens, which is a driver of sustainable development and for tourism .