Alicante to Establish Emergency Landfill for Waste Management in Future Disasters like Dana

Alicante province will have a new infrastructure to tackle the consequences of future meteorological disasters like Dana. The Generalitat has announced the creation of an emergency landfill in the region to manage waste caused by potential floods.

The head of the Consell, Carlos Mazón, has expressed his intention to launch this new emergency landfill - one in each province of the Comunitat - to handle waste management following future extreme events like the Dana of last October 29.

The announcement came this Sunday after visiting the Waste Transfer Centre in Quart de Poblet-Manises, alongside the Minister of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus. They highlighted "the Consell's efficiency in the management of waste" caused by Dana.

In this regard, Mazón noted that the works are "an unprecedented contingent in Spain" and "have attracted the interest of European institutions" due to the reuse efforts that give waste a second life "with full environmental respect".

Thus, the Consell aims to replicate this model through three new emergency landfills, one of them in the province of Alicante, to also have tools that ensure the process of material separation and recycling, and the storage of sludge.

The creation of these new emergency landfills will be incorporated into the Generalitat's Comprehensive Waste Plan. "The plan developed by the Consell has allowed for the creation of new figures that did not exist until now, new procedures and mechanisms in the field of public waste management," Mazón emphasized.

Thus, following the example of the Quart de Poblet-Manises plant, these infrastructures will allow the valorization of materials and reduce the minimum shipment to other landfills.

To achieve this, waste will be classified and separated, screening and crushing of materials will be carried out to separate fine and bulky fractions, in addition to transporting valuable materials to authorized managers for recycling or reuse.

Furthermore, possible applications for the obtained soils and the controlled disposal of non-recyclable waste are being sought, "ensuring their placement in authorized landfills with the least possible environmental impact".

The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, explained that the floods of last October 29 generated between 800,000 and 1,500,000 tonnes of waste in a single night, "equivalent to 10% of Spain's annual waste".

To address their management, the Generalitat "has required an unprecedented deployment of human and material resources" with an investment of 179 million euros through various emergency contracts, in addition to adding its own resources, they point out.

In this regard, it has been noted that the Consell has financed this amount "assuming municipal responsibilities" and has demanded that the central government "do its part, take note of the example, and also remove the waste that is its responsibility, such as those located in riverbeds and ravines".