People in the Balearics are Spain's top glass waste recyclers

PEOPLE in the Balearics are those who recycle the highest volume of glass in Spain, rubbish management watchdog “Ecovidrio” said yesterday.
In 2009, reported the watchdog, the Spanish managed to stop 302'887 tonnes of CO2 emissions being thrown into the atmosphere thanks to the recycling of 712'662 tonnes of glass. The figure averages out nationally at 15.2 kilos per inhabitant per year but in the Balearics, each resident recycles 26.3 kilos annually.

People living in the Basque country and in the region of Navarre are also conscientious as citizens in both regions recycle 25.4 kilogrammes of glass per head of population per year.

At an open doors event held yesterday by Ecovidrio to mark International Recycling Day, Institutional Relations director, Yolanda Gonzalez said that recycling glass has direct benefits for the environment and contributes significantly to sustainable development.

The reduction in CO2 emissions is achieved because recycled glass needs lower temperatures to melt than furnaces which have to break down primary materials.

People in the Balearics are particularly enthusiastic about recycling their sparkling wine (Cava) bottles over the Christmas and New Year period. An agreement reached between local authorities and the Dexailles charity foundation means that for every Cava bottle which is recycled in specially erected containers between pre-arranged dates, a cent goes to charity.

Municipal rubbish collection companies periodically come under fire as residents complain that some selective rubbish containers, including those which are set aside for glass, are not collected often enough . This can lead to scenes of messy “dumping” at the sides of overflowing containers - a poor image in tourist resorts.