“We have already transferred all the information on this matter to the island group of Sí Podemos Canarias in the different councils, as well as in other forums or meetings, where the subject has been discussed,” says Martín. Add that “We remain open to give all the information that is claimed, because our line of work is thought through and elaborated.” The president apologizes: “We are sure we are on the right track.”
An ecological alternative
Martín Domínguez values that “our position is not to bury or burn garbage, but to look for ecological and 21st century alternatives.” These actions, he explains, “must be in line with the most modern solutions to waste generated on the Island.” It indicates that “we have verified that they have already been developed in the most advanced countries in this matter and that they are very respectful of environmental issues.”
The president of the Council stresses: «We propose recycling and recovery as the axes of our waste policy. That as a starting point. It recognizes that “in the event that there is a part that cannot be treated in that way, the process of valorization would enter the scene.”
Pedro Martín gives an example: «When you put a brick or a can in the container, it does not immediately become fiber to make a fabric or plastic for a bicycle. You have to do a treatment and we all agree. ” He insists that “what we value is that we can give that waste another life instead of burying it or burning it and looking for another way out along the lines of the circular economy.”
He is insistent in stating that “we are open to studying it and valuing it. We continue proposing to meet with Sí Podemos Canarias and We believe that we are going to be sane in this area, because we are on the right path; a path that is similar to that of the most advanced countries in waste management.
The specification
The island councilor for Ecological Transition, Javier Rodríguez, explained that the object of the tender –for 15 years, extendable to 20– «does not focus on treating waste exclusively with this technology, but includes any other, with the exception of the incineration”. It ensures that “recycling prevails over any type of recovery, as stated in section 5 of clause 9 of the tender specifications”. It says verbatim: “In the event of a tie between two or more bids, the concession will be awarded to the bidder that has proposed a recycling operation compared to other forms of recovery.”
CC: “The European standard is violated”
CC-PNC in the Cabildo warns that “the PSOE fails to comply with European regulations by betting on burning garbage” at the Tenerife Environmental Complex (CAT), located in Arico. The nationalist councilor Blanca Pérez points out that “the EU hierarchy marks the following order of treatment: reduction, reuse, recycling (material recovery), incineration (energy recovery by oxidation, gasification, pyrolysis and plasma) and disposal in dump cells” . He considers that “the PSOE skips the first three steps directly and intends to burn the garbage.” Pérez insists that the regulations are clear: «You have to reduce, reuse and recycle. From there, the next thing is incineration and as a last solution, bury the waste. Remember that “in the previous term we had opted for the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle)”. The former Deputy Minister of the Environment of the Canary Islands Government summarizes: “We defend composting plants and the treatment of organic matter so that, with an adequate territorial distribution, a correct treatment of the organic fraction generated on the Island is carried out.” The counselor recalls that there is a unanimous agreement in the March 2019 Council to “consider the management of organic matter an absolute priority and the commitment to effective and efficient policies for its management.” He concludes: “With the burning of waste that the PSOE intends, the agreement of all the groups is breached.”
