No more rubbish for Mallorca

MALLORCA Island Council has announced that it has put an end to importing refuse to be incinerated at the Son Reus plant.

This will keep some 120,000 tonnes of rubbish from Italy and Ireland from arriving on the island, and according to the Councillor for the Environment, Sandra Espeja, it will not require any payment of compensation or lead to a rise in fees.

She said that the final decision will be taken at a plenary meeting on November 12, and will be supported by legal and financial reports.

Four more boats carrying rubbish will come to the island, as the contract had already been agreed ahead of the new term of office. However, a further 35, which would have arrived in November, will not.

She explained that Menorca and Ibiza will deal with their own situations, but that the Consell is available to provide guidance if needed.

Meanwhile, the conservative Partido Popular (PP) councillor, Catalina Soller, argued that the only reason why fees for processing refuse on the island can remain the same next year is thanks to the money made from importing rubbish for incineration.

Soller was formerly the head of the environmental department and said that only 20,000 tonnes of rubbish will be prevented from arriving on the island, not 120,000 as the Consell reports, as 100,000 tonnes which were due to arrive from Rome had still not been given the go-ahead from the Italian Government.

Soller also claims that the decision not to raise rubbish taxes was already approved on August 8 and doubts that there will be no compensation to pay.