06/09/2012 00:00
TW
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Palma.—The spokesperson for the PSIB-PSOE Socialists, former President of the Council of Majorca, Francina Armengol, criticised the proposal to convert the island into “Europe's waste tip” as “an insult to the local community.” The plan to begin incinerating solid waste from other European Union countries at the Son Reus waste treatment plant on the outskirts of Palma from next year, was unveiled on Monday, but it has not gone down well with the opposition and environmentalists. “We once had a Partido Popular President, Gabriel Cañellas who wanted to convert the Balearics into Europe's second home but the property bubble burst and now we're paying the price for all the speculation. “Now we have the PP's Jose Ramon Bauza who wants to cash in on the incinerator and transform the island into Europe's waste tip. He's sending out the wrong message. The previous Council of Majorca approved a motion to open another furnace in order to treat the mounting waste generated here in Majorca, not elsewhere in Europe. “When I was in government, we fought in Europe to protect our natural heritage, and we won. I think that's a better image to project and path to follow than becoming Europe's bin men,” she said yesterday.

However, the PP have already drawn up a white paper for consultation and is going to change legislation to allow for foreign waste to be shipped to the Balearics in strict accordance with the European Union requisites.

The PP main argument is that by treating more waste, incineration rates will be frozen and not increased at an annual rate which is what the incinerator management company Tirme is planning.