Alejandro Marichal: "With this action, we are returning to the municipality a natural space that had become a dumping ground."
Ruyman Cardoso: "This project has a budget of 1.3 million euros and will allow for the landscape restoration of 77.381 square meters."
The Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment, an entity attached to the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Canary Islands Government, has launched cleanup and rehabilitation work at the illegal landfill located in Degollada de las Yeguas, near Fataga, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, and the Councilor for Cleaning and Waste, Ruyman Cardoso, visited the area to inquire about the six-month work. This project, Cardoso explained, "has a budget of €1.300.000 and will allow for the removal of waste and the restoration of the landscape of 77.381 square meters." The project includes, he continued, "the removal of inert waste, mainly from construction and demolition, along with large accumulations of glass, appliances, plastics, wood, tires, and uncontrolled dumping of pruning debris."
In addition to clearing the affected area, the work will include land reclamation through landfilling and the application of a sealing layer composed of recycled material from the removed debris. As part of the restoration process, the area will be reforested with native species to promote ecosystem regeneration. Information signs will also be installed warning of the prohibition of further dumping in the area.
The origin of this illegal dump dates back to 1977, and since then, the accumulation of waste has continued to increase, generating a negative impact on the natural environment and local biodiversity. With this intervention, the Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment is responding to an infringement case opened by the European Union in 2018, in compliance with Directive 2008/98/EC on waste management, which requires the sealing of 47 illegal dumps in the archipelago, more than half of which have already been remediated.
The First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, thanked the Department of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Canary Islands Government, as well as the technicians from the Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment, for the work they are about to do, as it involves "recovering a natural space, eliminating a black spot that has affected the landscape and ecosystem of the area for decades. This intervention not only restores the natural beauty of the environment but also contributes to raising public awareness about the importance of proper waste management."