18/02/2015
Residents of parts of the large municipality of Orihuela are in uproar at the failure of the Town Hall to provide adequate rubbish collection and street cleaning services, a situation which has been a grievance for those in Orihuela Costa for years and which has been exacerbated this week by mechanical breakdowns.
The recent bad weather has caused considerable amounts of debris to accumulate in the coastal region of Orihuela, and on Wednesday tempers rose even higher when only two of the four waste collection vehicles in the area were able to make their nightly rounds. As a result the two operative vehicles had to work double shifts, and rubbish collectors were still emptying the bins along the coast as midday approached rather than finishing early in the morning as they normally do.
This situation has been replicated in inland areas such as La Murada, and the problem appears to have no imminent solution as the Town Hall’s accounts department is not allowing repairs on the broken down vehicles to be carried out due to a lack of provision for such work in the budget.
Due to normal rubbish containers being full some residents opted to throw their garbage into the bins normally reserved for cuttings and other plant waste, but unfortunately these aren’t being emptied either: the machinery used to collect cuttings broke down almost a fortnight ago.
It’s now only just over a month until the Easter holiday season begins, and both the residential areas and the beaches of Orihuela Costa are in desperate need of a thorough clean-up before the expected influx of visitors.
The recent wind and rain has caused damage to the wooden walkways on the beaches and the foot showers are not working in either Cala Mosca or La Zenia, which are normally among the most popular beaches in the area. Even the large structure on which the Blue Flag is normally proudly flown in La Zenia has blown down, and with rubbish accumulating in the streets this part of the Costa Blanca is far from being in peak condition.
While the impression given to visitors is one cause for concern, it shouldn’t be forgotten that those who are inconvenienced most are the residents: locals may be forced into using the municipal elections on 24th May as a chance to voice their dissatisfaction with the way in which they feel they have been neglected by the Town Hall over recent years.
Image: Orihuela waste contractors say furniture and rubbish is frequently being dumped by bins rather than taken to ecoparks
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