Majorca´s rubbish mountain

Rubbish is building up at Son Reus in Palma at the rate of 700 tons a day, which the incinerator cannot cope with. This is nearly 44 per cent of the 1'600 tons of rubbish taken to the plant every day. The rubbish is packed into bales and stored until winter, when the two furnaces have less rubbish to handle. This situation is expected to continue until at least the end of the year, when the Council of Majorca will have built a plant for selecting and recycling cans and packaging. This will take some of the pressure off, as it will mean less rubbish to burn. The situation has been aggravated this year as Son Reus now has to handle the rubbish from Calvia, as the controlled tip there has been closed. This has pushed the amount of rubbish taken to Son Reus up by 20 per cent. July and August, the peak tourist months, are when most rubbish is collected. The Council of Majorca had predicted a zero growth in rubbish for this year, but this has so far proved to be wide of the mark. It is expected to launch a new awareness campaign when it starts to install its yellow containers, for collecting tins, cans, plastic bottles or tetra bricks. It also plans to invest 18'000 million pesetas to guarantee a more environment-friendly elimination of rubbish. In addition to the selection plant it will include two compost plants, a methane plant and a tip to be used in emergencies.