A year late and in the midst of the controversy with Mallorca, the Consell Insular de Ibiza has launched the citizen participation process to determine whether it is better to build a waste incineration plant in Ibiza or to transfer the garbage that cannot be recycled to be incinerated in the Tirme energy recovery plant in Son Reus.The so-called Tirme energy recovery plant in Son Reus..
This will determine the model of “finalist treatment of non-hazardous waste on the island of Ibiza“, given the proximity of the end of the useful life of the ca na Putxa landfill, which, according to the latest assessment of the technicians, is estimated at just over 6 years.
The Sectorial Master Plan for the Prevention and Management of Non-Hazardous Waste on the island of Eivissa is the territorial planning instrument whose purpose is to “regulate the planning, projection, execution and management of the general infrastructure, equipment and service systems necessary for the management of non-hazardous waste, define the waste prevention and management model for the island of Eivissa, establish objectives adapted to current regulations and program the actions and instruments necessary for the development of the Plan”.
As reported, in the session of February 7, the Executive Council of the Consell Insular de Ibiza “has agreed to initiate a participatory process to determine the final treatment model for non-hazardous waste from Ibiza“.
This process is divided into two phases: one aimed at the general public and the other aimed at those members of the public who are considered interested persons in accordance with the aforementioned regulations. “Said persons will be determined in the agreement of the Executive Council and will constitute a working group that will hold joint sessions.”
From the Consell have detailed that the initiative, driven by the Department of Environmental Management , aims to define a “new model of finalist treatment of waste from the treatment plant waste, since the model that defines the current plan, deposit in the controlled landfill of Ca na Putxa, has two major limitations, so it is expected to put. This decision will condition the management of waste on the island of Eivissa in the long term and will have important environmental, social and economic repercussions that will directly affect all citizens”.
“All members of the public have the right to participate through the formulation of comments or allegations, expressing their observations and opinions when all options are open and before final decisions are made. To exercise this right, the information and documentation currently available on the alternatives under analysis is made available to the public, without prejudice to other documentation that may be incorporated during the process,” they state.
Public participation will begin with the consultation of the documentation and the creation of a consultation mailbox (participacioresidus@conselldeivissa.es). Subsequently, a survey will be enabled and the mailbox will be maintained for suggestions and comments for a period of one month.
At the time, from the consistory had highlighted the “breadth of the study that was commissioned in 2019, whose data were subsequently updated by an alternative study commissioned by the neighbors of the landfill. In any case, they are currently working on a methodology that allows, thanks to the data already available to the Consell de Ibiza and other administrations such as the Balearic Government and the municipalities, to update and conclude these studies to extract the most useful and updated information possible. This methodology will be exposed and submitted to a period of public participation, always ensuring transparency and strict compliance with the law”.
Negotiations
The Balearic Government has been optimistic about the possibility of resolving the conflict between the Consell de Ibiza and the Consell de Mallorca in a short time. However, so far, Mallorca has refused to receive Ibiza’s waste for incineration at Son Reus, leaving a viable solution to the problem up in the air.
The Consell de Ibiza is committed to transferring part of the waste to the incinerator of Son Reus, in Mallorca, and is even proposing to carry out pilot tests to demonstrate that the measure is feasible and safe. However, the Consell de Mallorca has so far rejected this option, closing the door to any negotiation on the issue.
During the Intermunicipal Conference of the PP on the island, the president of the Government, Marga Prohens, assured that the autonomous Executive is looking for a solution “that is good for everyone” and that it must be agreed between the Consell de Ibiza and the Consell de Mallorca.
The spokesman of the Executive, Antoni Costa, pointed out in the last press conference after the Consell de Govern that the solution must come from the island institutions themselves.
Costa has recognized that the situation in Ibiza is “very serious” and that the landfill has an “expiration date”, so it is urgent to find a viable solution. However, the Govern has chosen not to intervene directly, urging both councils to reach an agreement.
An urgent solution
The Platform ¡Hay Soluciones! has called for an urgent solution to prevent the island from running out of space for its garbage. Their proposal is clear: rule out the construction of an incinerator in Ibiza and move the rejection fraction to Mallorca, where there is an infrastructure already prepared for it.
