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Areas Urbanism & territory, Tourism and Economic activities Environment In 2019, spike in organics collection and improved separation behind 5% drop in new waste

In 2019, spike in organics collection and improved separation behind 5% drop in new waste

photo-2020-02-06-10-35-22-1-Formentera’s environment department reports that islanders generated 5% less waste from 2018 to 2019, sending upwards of 9.5 thousand tonnes to Eivissa’s Ca na Putxa treatment plant compared to just over ten thousand the year before.

The figures mark a considerable drop, and, according to environment councillor Antonio J Sanz, can mostly be traced to two factors: “First, awareness is growing and users are getting better at separating glass, paper and cardboard. Second, the dip is commensurate to the nearly 30% spike we saw this year in organics collection”. Organics pick-up went from just shy of 541t in 2018 to over 700t a year later. Sanz tied the figures to the door-to-door recycling push which has mainly involved businesses and large-scale waste generators in Es Pujols. That service has had help from two figures assigned to provide support: ecological educators and the local environment office’s environmental advocate.

Other figures

Last year, residents of local towns generated just over 6,900t of solid waste—an 8.1% drop compared to nearly 7,510t the year prior. Paper and cardboard collection was also up 0.3% (from 955t to 958t); plastics collection rose by 19% (from 570t to 680t) and glass collection fell by 0.16t, or 2%.

Together with the numbers for recyclable materials like glass, plastics and paper/cardboard, this year’s figures for organics collection bring Formentera closer to the objectives laid out by a 2009 bill on waste and polluted soils according to which recyclables should amount to half of the total weight of waste material. Today that figure is 32.5%—four percentage points higher than last year.

The month of August experienced the highest waste collections of the year (1.6t), followed by July (1.5t) and June (1.3t). December and January were the two months when pickup was lowest (357t and 364t, respectively).

Sanz pointed out that the growth of the pickup service had been studied and that reinforcements had come in those services where operatives said it was needed to prevent bin overflow and unlawful dumping. Street cleaners were also dispatched in greater number, as were individuals responsible for emptying street-side bins in the centres of towns like La Mola and Es Pujols—part of an effort to bring the service in line with actual needs.

271 pallets in four months

The environment department reports that repurposed pallets are behind more than €1,150 in savings at the island’s rubbish drop-off point, where 271 pallets have been diverted from their normal route —chipping at Formentera’s waste treatment plant, and shipment to Eivissa— since the 18 September launch of a programme to keep pallets out of landfills.

Anyone interested in picking up extra pallets can visit the Deixalleria’s drop-off and pick-up point. Pallets must be used sensibly and may not be resold, and people are asked to comply with related environmental regulations. Burning pallets treated with paints or varnishes is expressly prohibited.

6 February 2020
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera

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