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Five hundred eco-friendly bags handed out among local students

diasensebosses1The third of July is the International Plastic Bag Free Day, and Daisee Aguilera, the CiF councillor of the environment is seizing the opportunity to take the task of promoting multi-use and non-disposable bags –an objective toward which the local Formentera administration has often paved the way– to a new level.

In a press conference this morning, Aguilera reminded listeners in the crowd of “how important it is for the environment that we eschew plastic bags in favour of biodegradable options, like potato starch-based sacks”. Attempting to inculcate the custom in younger residents, Council staff distributed 500 cloth bags among students of the Escoleta Sa Miranda nursery and children in other summer programmes. In a more symbolic gesture, a certain number of the plastic-free bags were also handed out among tourists and older residents of the island.

Keeping the island clean

Councillor Aguilera explained that the Council would soon begin outreach campaigns to effect proper disposal habits among tourists and residents. The councillor referred to a series of posters which urge locals to keep the island clean as one possible solution. In effect, the environmental councillor spoke of the “increasingly frequent sight of oversized waste that is being left next to –but not inside– rubbish containers”.

The head of local environmental affairs noted that “to avoid the over-saturation of street-side bins, oversized objects need to be taken to the new rubbish tip ('la deixalleria') located at the industrial park”. As Silvia Carcelero, department head of Ferrovial Servicios, the contract-holder for local waste collection, pointed out, “there exists a door-to-door furniture collection service that can be contracted by calling 900 102 656”.

With regard to the accumulation of rubbish alongside a number of street-side bins in la Savina, Carcelero disclosed that the company is studying the possibility of putting a new bin halfway down the length of the Marina promenade, but emphasised that their priority would still be “raising awareness among users of the rubbish bins”. “Often what happens is that people leave their trash piled up next to the bin because they assume it's full. A quick look at the back end is all it takes to see that's not the case. They're bins with two-sided openings, and are generally only full at one side,” she added.