CALVIA GEARS UP TO REMOVE GRAFITTI

Staff Reporter CALVIA town council has launched a major attack on the problem of grafitti, and has spent more than 1.1 million euros on the purchase of new cleaning equipment. The equipment, which includes five ‘gluttons' for getting rid of chewing gum, three sweepers, five lorries and three cleaning vehicles, was presented yesterday by Mayor Carlos Delgado, deputy Mayor Rafael Garau, who is also chairman of the Calvia 2000 municipal company, and its manager Lorenzo Morey. Grafitti is a major problem in the Calvia area, which includes resorts such as Palma Nova, Magalluf, Santa Ponsa and Peguera, and Peter Stringfellow and other residents have spearheaded a campaign against it. It seems that the council has now started to listen to them. Delgado said that the new equipment, together with a series of new services, will not only raise the level and quality of cleanliness in Calvia, but will also make standards more even throughout the municipality. Up to 26 percent of metres of street will now be cleaned every day during the high season, eight percent more than last year. Forty-seven percent of the metres will be cleaned once a week, an improvement of 30 percent. In low season, the metres cleaned five days a week have been increased by 27 percent. Calvia 2000 is in charge of keeping the municipality clean and Garau and Morey said that the renewal of the fleet of vehicles and the introduction of new services will improve the state of the streets throughout the municipality, one of the wealthiest on the island. Particular attention will be paid to the resorts, they said. They added that emphasis will be placed on eliminating the grafitti and treating the walls and surfaces affected, while the ‘glutton' machines will be put to good use cleaning up chewing gum from the streets, particularly in the streets bordering the beaches and the main thoroughfares in the tourist resorts. The machines were put through their paces during the presentation yesterday, to show just what can be achieved if Calvia 2000 sticks to its promises.