A sanctioning file will be opened for a serious infringement of waste management in an area that has accumulated more than 240,000 cubic metres of construction and demolition material.
The Regional Ministry of Enterprise, Employment and Energy offers its collaboration in joint work between sectoral administrations for possible solutions in the short, medium and long term.
The Regional Ministry of Enterprise, Employment and Energy has ordered the emergency closure of illegal activity in the Cap de Barbaria area of Formentera, after receiving a technical report from the Waste Department, part of the Directorate General of Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change, which points to serious non-compliance in waste management.
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The Government orders the closure of illegal activity in the Cap de Barbaria area to prevent negative effects on people and the environment
With this report, the Balearic government will initiate a disciplinary proceeding against the Formentera Council for a serious infringement, with penalties of up to 300,000 euros for each of the breaches.
Councillor Alejandro Sáenz de San Pedro explained: ‘We are faced with a mountain of construction and demolition waste of more than 240,000 cubic metres, 40 metres high and visible, even with Google Earth. There has been an uncontrolled accumulation and this affects and damages the environment and endangers the workers who access the area, a situation that has been allowed and that the previous executive knew about. The largest waste dump in the Balearic Islands has been allowed in uncontrolled and unregulated facilities, which has grown by 33% in recent years.
He added: ‘This government will not leave the Formentera Council or the citizens of Formentera to their fate.
In this regard, Diego Viu, director general of Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change, said: ‘The sectoral administrations will work together to provide possible solutions in the short, medium and long term, always ensuring the safety of people and the protection of the environment. In fact, for us, it is a matter of urgency and we are devoting all our resources to act in a diligent but administratively correct manner’.
Background.
In 2006, the original Cap de Barbaria landfill was closed to adapt it to the regulations; at that time, restoration work began and was completed in 2011. The construction of the transfer station was completed in the same year. It is from this moment on that the accumulation of construction and demolition waste without any control can be observed.
In 2018 the Consell Insular de Formentera commissioned a study to determine the volume and composition of the waste, which at that time already exceeded 100,000 cubic metres. It was not until 2024 that Councillor Alejandro Sáenz de San Pedro and Director General Diego Viu, with the collaboration of the current executive of the Formentera Council, discovered the mountain of illegal rubble during a visit for the authorisation of the transfer station built in 2011.