The waste crisis in Ibiza remains unresolved and the position of Vox in the Balearic Islands presents significant differences between its representatives in Mallorca and Ibiza. While Vox on the island of Ibiza supports the temporary transfer of waste to Mallorca, the Conseller of Environment of the Consell de Mallorca, Pedro Bestard (Vox), has rejected this possibility outright, arguing that each island should take care of its own waste management.
Meanwhile, the Balearic Government maintains its position of not intervening directly in the conflict, although it insists on the need for an agreement between the Consell de Ibiza and the Consell de Mallorca. During the Intermunicipal Conference of the PP in Ibiza, the president of the Government, Marga Prohens, stated that her Executive seeks a solution “that is good for everyone”, but avoided pronouncing herself on whether she supports the transfer of waste to Mallorca.
For his part, the Mallorcan president, Llorenç Galmés (PP), assured yesterday that Mallorca will show solidarity while demanding a global agreement within the community in the face of the “very serious” problem of waste management in the Balearic Islands.
Vox Ibiza vs Vox Mallorca?
In this context, in statements to La Voz de Ibiza, the councilor of Ibiza in the opposition, Jaime Diaz de Entresotos (Vox), has argued that the best long-term solution is to build an incinerator in Ibiza, although he recognizes that the investment required is “brutal” and that the island can not afford it in the short term.
“Our long-term goal is to have an incinerator here. However, this involves an investment of about 200 million euros, something that is not going to be achieved in the next four or five years,” he explained.
A temporary solution: relocation to Mallorca
Although Vox Ibiza prefers an incinerator on the island, Díaz de Entresotos has made it clear that his group would not oppose a temporary solution that involves transferring waste to Mallorca, as long as it is done with guarantees.
“If in the meantime waste has to be transferred to Mallorca, we could not be inconvenient either, as long as this is done with the logical guarantees,” he points out.
However, the councilor has warned about the visual and logistical impact of the constant transit of garbage trucks to the port.
Díaz de Entresotos also warned about the logistical difficulties and the impact on Ibiza’s tourist image if the plan to move waste to Mallorca is implemented. “The problem is fundamentally what effect does it have on tourist quality to have trucks and trucks carrying 250 or 300 tons of garbage every day to a ship in the port,” he says.
The councilor says that this would generate a visual contrast in the middle of the port area, with yachts and tourists watching how garbage is loaded on the boats. ” We are not only talking about luxury yachts, because I don’t care about those, but also about the traffic on the roads, the effect this would have on mobility,” he adds.
In addition, he mentions that Ibiza does not have sufficient infrastructure to carry out a massive waste transfer efficiently. “If this plan to take waste to Mallorca were as simple as it is proposed, it would have been done before. But of course it is not that simple,” he anticipates.
According to his calculations, the island generates between 200 and 300 tons of waste per day, which would imply about 20 trucks per day transporting garbage to the port. However, he acknowledged that it is likely that the fraction rejected would be less. ” The world of waste is much more complex than people imagine,” he reflects.
The conflict with Vox Mallorca: “Each island must take care of its waste”.
One of the most striking aspects of the debate is the position of Vox in Mallorca, which rejects the reception of waste from Ibiza. On this point, Diaz de Entresotos acknowledges that he has not discussed the issue in depth with Pedro Bestard, the Minister of Environment in Mallorca, but he has received “a couple of messages” from him.
“Pedro Bestard’s position is that each island should take care of its own garbage. Perhaps the appropriate expression has not been to say that ‘each island should take its own shit’, but that is the idea he defends”, accepts Díaz de Entresotos.
Asked if this position could become more flexible over time, the councilor responded that if there were a firm commitment to the construction of an incinerator in Ibiza, Vox Mallorca could reconsider its position.
“If we have a commitment from the Partido Popular or the ruling party that an incinerator is going to be built, we would not protest if the garbage is temporarily taken to Mallorca,” he says.
He also insists that he does not consider that Vox in Ibiza and Mallorca have a contradiction in their positions, but that they respond to different contexts. “There is no contradiction. It is no contradiction, it is a temporary issue,” he assures.
Ca Na Putxa landfill: “It has been poorly managed”.
Díaz de Entresotos has also been critical of the lack of investment in the Ca Na Putxa landfill, assuring that the measures adopted have been “palliative” and ineffective.
“The landfill should have received more investment. What has been done have been maintenance things, such as placing covers or installing some probes to reduce gases, but it has been a poor solution,” he laments.
The Vox councilor also warns about the environmental impact that subsoil contamination can have if adequate measures are not taken.
“How it affects the groundwater needs to be monitored very seriously. Some areas of the landfill have been compacted, but the root problem has not yet been addressed,” he warns.
The recycling problem and the role of Ecoembes
Another of the points criticized by Diaz de Entresotos is the recycling model in Ibiza, which he considers inefficient. There he has not been slow to come down hard on Ecoembes, the non-profit organization that manages the collection and recycling of light packaging (plastics, cans and briks) and paper/cardboard in Spain and which has been criticized for lack of transparency and for not guaranteeing efficient recycling of plastic waste.
“Ecoembes is the big joke in this country. It does not do the job it should do. It comes once a year and passes everything,” he criticized. According to him, this is causing large amounts of material to accumulate in Ca Na Putxa, which contributes to the problem of the landfill continues to grow.
The future of waste management in Ibiza
On the role of the Balearic Government in this conflict, Diaz de Entresotos admits that he is not clear who has taken the initiative in this matter, so he does not enter into assessments. “I don’t know if it was Marga Prohens or Vicent Marí. I have no record that the president of the Consell has been the one who asked the Balearic Government to intervene in this”, he doubts.
Finally, the councilor reiterated that the position of Vox Ibiza is not contradictory to that of Vox Mallorca: “What we propose is a temporary solution. We are not building things in a crazy way, we are looking for logical and coherent solutions”, he concludes.
Citizen participation
The open debate has arrived before Ibiza has made a decision. The Consell de Ibiza announced that it was going to promote a process of citizen participation that has not yet been launched.
