The Municipality of Rethymno received the Bronze Award at the Best City Awards 2026 (Green City – Solid Waste Management category) for its innovative environmental strategy promoting recycling and environmental awareness. The awards are held under the auspices of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE) with the support of the Association of Innovative Applications Enterprises of Greece (SEKEE), and the ceremony took place at the Serafio Hall in Athens.
The Municipality’s award-winning strategy combines environmental education, citizen engagement, separate waste sorting at source, and modern communication tools, aiming to build a strong recycling culture among students and adults.
In collaboration with the Department of Primary Education of Rethymno, the Municipality implements structured environmental education programs that include interactive presentations, experiential visits to waste management facilities, school recycling initiatives, and public awareness activities. Following the 2024–2025 program “I change my habits, I save the planet,” the 2025–2026 program “Give value to its next life” focuses on the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and is part of the European eWAsTER project under the Interreg Euro-MED programme, in which the Municipality participates as a partner.
Additional actions include coastal clean-ups, school visits, recycling infrastructure support, and targeted public awareness campaigns, as well as mandatory waste separation measures in the Historic Centre of Rethymno.
This distinction confirms the Municipality’s long-term, measurable environmental policy and highlights Rethymno as a model of sustainable waste management and environmental education in local government.
