Council tackles the rubble disposal problem on Majorca

THE Council of Majorca will officially inaugurate the public service for the management of building and demolition rubble (RCD), bulky waste (V), and used tyres on Friday. Every year 1'016'000 tonnes of this type of waste are processed. Of these, one million tonnes are building and demolition rubble; 10'000 tonnes are bulky waste (such as mattresses, domestic appliances or furniture); and 6'000 tonnes are used tyres. The new service is run by the concessionary company Mac Insular, which has two treatment plants in Bunyola and Santa Margalids and six transfer depots in Inca, Llucmajor, Arta, Manacor, Calvia and Porreres. With regard to the treatment of building and demolition rubble, the head of the local cooperation department of the Council of Majorca, Catalina Julve, explained that the model for this is based on the principles of minimisation of the waste at source, the evaluation of the waste and the appropriate treatment of the unusable waste. In the case of bulky waste, she was in favour of a system which discouraged indiscriminate dumping, approving a direct collection system which would oblige people to take them to a public service treatment plant where they will be prioritised in this order: re-use, recycling and energy improvement. As for the used tyres, the intention is to minimise production and treat this type of waste in an appropriate manner to avoid indiscriminate dumping on uncontrolled rubbish dumps, or burning them without regard for the environment. According to the information from the Council of Majorca, the objectives of the new service are: to predict the generation of waste “as a top priority”; to evaluate it in three ways (re-use, recycling and energy evaluation); and to get rid of waste in a safe way.