The strong local opposition to the construction of an organic waste treatment plant in San José del Valle is justified.
In his treatment no reliable public information emerged, it was only summoned that the interested parties could appear in person in the town hall, in full imprisonment, for 20 days. The plant that the Valora company designs does not incorporate BAT, Best Available Technologies, nor does it guarantee zero discharges. By placing the structure on top of an aquifer, the Sotillos aquifer, which will certainly come into service to cope with supply due to prolonged drought, can be considered reckless if it does not guarantee complete impermeability of the surface of the structure and the surrounding environment the areas. This seal is impossible if the plant does not have procedures for the treatment of leachate and for covering the warehouses where the aerobic fermentation of sludge, food waste, sewage, septic tanks, Sandach (Animal by-products not intended for human consumption) remains. and a long etc. An episode of heavy rain would overflow the projected area and transfer the contaminated water to the surface channels and the aquifer below. It is therefore incomprehensible that, with these shortcomings, the Territorial Delegation of the Environment of Cadiz has granted the favorable environmental opinion.
We do not deny the need to provide adequate treatment for the huge volume of organic sludge from multiple facilities and activities, nor do we fly with the NIMBY, not in my backyard; What the ecologists in action and the inhabitants of the Alcornocalejos neighborhood, the one directly involved, are asking for is transparency and rigor, requisites forgotten in this project.
Precisely because these structures are necessary, they must be irreproachable in their design, construction and operation, avoiding any kind of inconvenience to the affected residents, especially bad smells. The Circular Economy, by converting waste into usable resources, cannot be invoked to protect practices unrelated to circulation, because they are potential generators of environmental impacts and because the result obtained, a compost resulting from the mixture of waste, cannot certify the excellence of the product, as the result of a heterogeneous range of waste.
The fact that they are classified as non-hazardous waste does not allow us to conclude that they are harmless: their organic nature and high water content make them a reservoir of harmful germs, which if not properly treated become a source of infections.
In short, a plant design is needed to cope with this type of waste, where participation, traceability, excellence in management and environmental compatibility prevail, requirements not met in this project.
