The Consell de Mallorca excludes the import of waste from Ibiza from the 2026 budget

The budgets of the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) do not include the 50 million euros that the Balearic Government owes the island institution to compensate for the environmental costs of importing waste from Ibiza. Thus, the transfer of waste between the islands hangs by a thread after the far right dropped the decree-law on accelerating strategic projects in Parliament – the very decree the governing team intended to use to provide legal cover for the project. Sources within the island institution have justified the exclusion of the 50 million euros from the 2026 budget by stating that the initiative "does not yet have legal backing." Although the Consell has not even budgeted for the waste transfer and the project currently lacks legal approval, the Councilor for the Environment, Rural Affairs, and Sports of the Consell de Mallorca, Pedro Bestard, assured that the waste would be taken from Ibiza to Mallorca.Period."

At the October plenary session of the island council, Bestard made it clear that the Consell would not abandon the initiative and assured that the governing team was working to "fix what wasn't approved in Parliament." He added that efforts would be made to relocate the waste and also to secure the 50 million euros that the Government had promised to compensate for its expenses. The waste from Ibiza and Formentera is currently taken to the Ca na Putxa landfill, which is nearing its capacity, and it is planned that some of it will be transferred to Mallorca. According to calculations provided by MÁS per Mallorca, this would mean that some 21,900 truckloads of manure would travel on Mallorca's road network each year, carrying 160,000 tons of non-recyclable waste. If the import of this waste is not approved, another solution for Ibiza will have to be found. The Consell de Mallorca would stop receiving 50 million euros from the Balearic Government in exchange for taking over the management of this manure.

According to sources from the PP and Vox parties, negotiations to pass the decree law accelerating strategic projects – which foreseesother issuesInitiatives such as the installation of more solar parks on rural land and facilitating the construction of shopping centers and businesses are still underway despite tensions in Parliament. "We're being pressured by the Consell, both us and them," a PP source asserts. According to this same source, they are working to amend the legislation to remove references to renewable energy in order to appease Vox. Meanwhile, sources within Manuela Cañadas' party state that they support allowing the import of waste from Ibiza. However, they are not taking their vote in favor of the decree law for granted. If negotiations fail, they point out, "this issue can always be incorporated into another piece of legislation."