Protejacanillas

Why do we object to the project “LA IMPLANTACIÓN DE COMPLEJO MEDIOAMBIENTAL DE RECOGIDA Y RECICLAJE SITUADO EN “LOMILLEJA DE MINGANA, CARDAL, LOMA CUCHICHE”. CANILLAS DE ACEITUNO. MÁLAGA”

We welcome any initiative that can promote environmental awareness in Spain, especially among children and young people who are the future of the country. A change of mentality in the field of the environment will start with young people, and any training in this area will stimulate and support this.

We are also strong advocates of recycling and reuse. “Use, Reuse, Recycle” is the basic principle that we ourselves also use every day.

Consideration of nature
We therefore welcome the construction of new recycling companies, provided that the most modern and the ‘best available technologies’ are used.

The next question is, where should such a company be planned? And we must not lose sight of the basis: nature conservation, with respect for the environment – both the natural environment and the human environment.

And then one thing is crystal clear: the proposed location does not meet the principles in any way:

– virgin natural land is being seized. The land on which the project is planned is currently not in use for agriculture, industry or habitation.

– it is a wild natural area, and with a view to nature conservation (see above!) we want to keep it that way and we oppose the establishment of the recycling company at the proposed location.

– of course many trucks will drive to and from the site. The public roads to the site (A -7205 and possibly further the MA-4106) are not equipped for frequent traffic of heavy trucks.

When the old landfill and recycling site was still active, at about the same location as the new one is planned, accidents on the access roads were commonplace. The new landfill will process a lot more waste than the old one, the accidents will increase exponentially!

Unacceptable – the site itself will of course also cause environmental nuisance. What are the emissions from the installation? What will the emissions be? Water pollution? Air pollution? Odour nuisance? Nowhere have these been investigated in the document.

The document only deals with the construction and the installations, not with the environmental impact on the site and the environment.

Everyone in the wider area breathed a sigh of relief that the severe pollution came to an end when the old landfill had to close. Nobody is waiting for a repeat, let alone an increase in the nuisance from that period.

This is unacceptable and we will oppose it. – the site is located along the access road to Canillas de Aceituno, one of the pearls of the Axarquia. The Canillas municipal council is making an effort to make the village attractive to tourists, just think of El Saltillo.

A recycling company with associated landfills does not fit into this picture at all, and thwarts the plans of the municipal council.

We therefore hope that the municipal council will sincerely support us in our opposition to this project.

Alternative location
As indicated above, we have no objection to a recycling project as such. However, it is also important to plan such an installation at the correct and right location. And here the project submitter himself must also follow the basic principle: ‘Use – Reuse – Recycle’.

The correct location is therefore – for example – an old abandoned quarry in the mountains, away from any habitation. The necessary road infrastructure is already present there (the stones were certainly not removed with a wheelbarrow..) and nature has already been affected by human and industrial activity (USE).

Time to re-use these old sites for new activity (REUSE) such as a recycling project, and after this industrial project (in 30 years for example) nature on this site can be restored (RECYCLE)

It is of course up to the project applicant to find a suitable location, the current location is certainly not suitable! Now that we are talking about the location: the community of Canillas already raised questions about the large roads that were added in the Campo, a few months ago. With the project proposal that is now on the table, it is clear what the real reason is why these roads were made. These roads are located exactly where the landfill is planned – and are clearly part of the unlicensed project! How is it possible that these roads in the Campo were already made before the company in question had obtained an environmental permit?

Who gave permission for these roads to be built? If necessary, we will not only appeal the application for the recycling project, but we will also request the restoration of nature to its original state, and consider filing a complaint against the developer for carrying out work on the project before it was processed by the licensing authority.