Wind and solar energy, plus an 85 percent recycling rate, reflects how an idyllic Greek island is forging the way towards an environmentally friendly community.

Greece may be better known for its ancient civilization, but the GR-eco project on a number of Greek islands in the Dodecanese archipelago is catching the eye as a green example to follow.

Locals and tourists have embraced the environmental approach that has also been made possible due to heavy European Union (EU) investment.

Lying between Nisyros in the north and Rhodes in the south, Tilos is home to a host of pioneering programs. You could say it's an island of the future.

A small solar park in the middle of the S-shaped island and a single wind turbine in the north part, are enough to provide the whole island with electricity.

The energy not consumed is stored in an EU-funded battery installation or sent to nearby islands.

"For the past 30 years that has been our policy, and individual goals, to protect and preserve the environment, said Tilos Mayor Maria Aliferi. 

"It's our philosophy. We want to live in harmony with the environment. That's why we take these kinds of initiatives. But the project is not only about us. Most of the time we produce more energy than we need, so we export it to our neighbor islands, through underwater cables. The cables that once transferred fossil fuels, now transfer renewables."

The green approach does not stopped there.

The local government has taken it a step further by implementing a zero-waste policy. 

A program called 'Just Go Zero Tilos' puts into practice the circular management of all waste produced on the island.

It does this with the help of door-to-door pick-ups. A group of around 20 people with trucks and vans go door-to-door and collect waste from homes and businesses.

They then transfer it at the old landfill site that has been converted into a recycling plant where waste is separated to produce powdered glass, cement mix and compost fertilizer.

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Recycling

Efforts are also being made to produce fewer non-recyclable goods. 

"Our recycling rate constantly increases, but we have a different goal, we want our community to use fewer non-recyclable products," said waste collector, Dimitris Kaltsas. "Recycling is a way of life anyway. What we aim for is to use fewer products we don't need."

Tilos is a small island in the south Aegean sea, two hours from Rhodes, and 15 hours from the mainland, but it's exporting a sustainable culture that could have an impact in the wider world.

"The green initiatives on other islands, such as Chalki or Astypalea are part of the Tilos project," said Mayor Aliferi. "The idea of ​​green Greek islands was inspired by what we are doing here. Even an EU committee came to Tilos asking us how we did it, so they can apply it to other islands. That's the real success for us, we want others to follow."