The Balearic Department of the Environment's Red Natura 2000 Committee has issued a report in favour of extending the Milà rubbish tip by around 9 hectares.
The original tip for inert waste, Milà I, has already been closed and the 5.5 hectares currently occupied by Milà II are virtually saturated after 15 years of use, despite the fact that Menorcan residents recycle more waste than the average Spaniard. The decision taken in 2008 to ban large items and construction material from the tip bought an extra year of useful life but, by 2011, all available space will have been used.
In order to solve the problem the Consorcio de Residuos Urbanos (Consortium for Town Waste) recently purchased an adjoining 9 hectares of land, Milà III, which will have an estimated useful life of 21 years.
Although Milà falls within an area declared a Site of Community Interest (SCI) by the EU, the plans to extend the tip have been given the green light by the Red Natura 2000 Committee which has accepted the Island Council's offer to create a new SCI to compensate. This will be an area of the Santa Eularieta estate, in Es Mercadal district, covering 350,000 sq.m., more than three times the Milà extension. Both areas have similar habitats and species. This fact, plus the size of the new SCI were the deciding factors in a favourable report being issued.
The report will now be sent to the Balearic Government for approval before being passed to the European Commission in Brussels. However, the project still needs to obtain a favourable assessment of its impact on the environment.