Ibiza, pending that the Council of Mallorca unblocks the agreement for the transport of waste

PalmaThe Consell de Mallorca has not managed to authorize the administrative file to validate the agreement with Eivissa for the transfer of waste between the two islands. This situation formally prevents its signing and puts the start of the new inter-island system for managing the residual fraction on hold, just when the logistical device associated with the project is advanced and with a ship about to arrive in Eivissa, as reported by ARA Balears. Furthermore, it should be remembered that the Ca na Putxa landfill is close to reaching its operational limit.

According to sources from both island institutions, the fact that the file continues without internal authorization at the Consell de Mallorca is due to a legal and technical review that has not yet been closed, with requests for additional information from the General Secretariat of the Mallorcan institution. For the moment, it has not transpired what the doubts are or if they affect jurisdictional, economic or service configuration aspects.

Knowledgeable sources confirm that the situation has generated institutional tension with the Consell d'Eivissa, as the president had committed to having the operation underway by the beginning of July. According to sources from the Consell d'Eivissa confirmed to ARA Balears, the institution "considers its administrative part completed" and assures that, for its part, the agreement has been ready for signing for some time. According to the Consell d'Eivissa's forecast, the ship that has to transport the waste is already practically on the island and is in a position to carry out the transfer. But without a signed agreement, he will not be able to start it and will have to remain in Vila's port.

Meanwhile, Ibiza faces the added pressure of the Ca na Putxa situation, the island's landfill which is in the final phase of its useful life and which forces the activation of immediate alternatives for the management of the residual fraction.

The delay comes after the Consell de Mallorca relaxed the initial technical conditions to facilitate the start of the transfer. As ARA Balears advanced, that modification opened a political debate on the environmental guarantees of the project. At present, the Consell d'Eivissa has specified that the waste will finally be transported "packaged in plasticized bales", and not under the conditions that had fueled the initial controversy.

Modification of the Waste Law

To carry out this operation, the Waste Law of the Balearic Islands, which prohibited the transfer of waste between islands, had to be modified. The regulatory change has opened the door to a hitherto non-existent model, in which the residual fraction generated in Ibiza can be transferred to Mallorca to be treated at the Son Reus energy recovery plant, in a scheme that breaks with the previous principle of island self-sufficiency in waste matters.

The Consell d'Eivissa awarded UTE GIREF a pilot test of the service for approximately 2.7 million euros plus VAT and a planned duration of three months. The contract includes the entire logistics chain of the system: preparation of waste at Ca na Putxa, land transport to the port, maritime transport between Ibiza and Mallorca, and final treatment at Son Reus. The entire system, once deployed, will amount to 24.5 million euros and foresees a regular operation of weekly trips between the two islands. It is estimated that about 7 trucks per day will arrive at Son Reus from Ibiza when the ship is operating.

Despite this deployment, the system cannot become operational while the Consell de Mallorca does not authorize the file and the agreement cannot be signed. The project represents a structural change in the waste management model in the Balearic Islands, with the creation for the first time of a regular flow of waste between islands by sea transport. This modification has generated significant political controversy in the Consell de Mallorca, in addition to concerning entities such as the GOB, which has filed an administrative appeal. In a context of progressive closure of landfill facilities in Ibiza and with the need to redefine the island waste treatment system, the definitive solution will not be in the short term. All this involves redefining the Ibiza Waste Master Plan, which has just been put out to tender.