Because of a woefully inadequate rubbish collection service along the busy Orihuela Costa, frustrated residents are greeted each day by smelly piles of trash and stacks of household waste dumped beside the overflowing bins.

 

Added to this is the fact that garden cuttings and building debris are thrown out daily by people who either don’t know the rules, or simply don’t care.

 

To tackle the issue head-on, a meeting was held last week between the local government, police force, councillors and locals, who decided to set up an environmental patrol staffed with eight officers. This task force will be responsible for monitoring around 40 areas on the Orihuela Costa, most of which are located in inland urbanisations and are routinely subjected to illegal dumping of household and building rubbish.

 

The fly tipping situation has become such a problem along the coast that last month, the Neighbourhood Association of Cabo Roig and Lomas (AVCRL) threatened to take legal action against local mayor Pepe Vegara “if within a few weeks, before the summer season, the [rubbish collection] service is not being provided normally”.

 

The new patrol team will be led by an inspector and will operate during both morning and afternoon shifts. They can be reached directly through a dedicated phone number: 0034 672 210 904. Alternatively, residents can also contact the general number for the Local Police at 0034 965 300 204 to report any illegal fly tipping.

 

The council has assured that anyone lodging a complaint can do so anonymously.

 

While the initial focus is on addressing the dumping of pruning waste and debris from building sites, the patrol will also coordinate with other municipal departments, including Street Cleaning, MSW, Environment and Infrastructure with the aim of streamlining the cleaning service and promote the establishment of designated clean points.

 

The Neighbourhood Association of Cabo Roig and Lomas has welcomed this new service, which they had formally requested back in August. However, they also point out that a fixed ecopark, which was promised last year, would have further deterred these types of infractions.

 

Article courtesy of https://alicantetoday.com/