by Staff Reporter
THE company Tirme will continue to handle rubbish collection and disposal in Majorca until the year 2041, and in exchange it will pay for expanding the incinerator and build the new rubbish treatment installations required under the Council of Majorca's new master plan for rubbish disposal.
The concession was approved yesterday at the first Council of Majorca meeting after the holidays with the votes in favour of the Partido Popular (PP) and Majorcan Union (UM), the abstention of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and the votes against of the Majorcan Socialist Party (PSM) and the United Left-Greens (EU-EV).
The terms of the concession were extended so that Tirme will be able to find the 376 million euros which the new installations will cost.
The increase in the cost of handling rubbish will be reflected in the charges paid by residents, the opposition claimed, adding that if this year, the bill was 90 euros, by 2010 it will have risen to 143 euros and by 2041, the last year of Tirme's concession, it could be as high as 290 euros per family per year.
The high cost of the bills for incineration was one of the chief arguments against the concession brandished by all the left-wing parties.
They all agreed that instead of extending Tirme's concession, the Council of Majorca should have sought new tenders.
Cati Julve, head of the Council's rubbish department, said that extending the incinerator is not a whim but a necessity.
She pointed out that the controlled tip at Son Reus should be closed in 2007.
She also said that the European Union has been approached for funding, which would bring down the charges.
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