Ana Juan, President of the Consell de Formentera, Antoni Tur, Councillor of Environment, and the director of work Pablo Quesada, have signalled that this week the pontoon footbridge at S'Estany des Peix will be lowered to reduce the visual impact of the structure. Further, the Consell has indicated that it is working with Tragsatec, which is overseeing the project, and the company that installed the footbridge on possible alternatives to the current structure.

"The visual impact of the footbridge is tremendous and this is unacceptable, for both Formentera and Estany des Peix", said President Juan. She defended the basic project which was presented in 2018 by the Balearic Ministry of Environment and endorsed by all the administrations involved in this natural site. "This visual impact must now be reduced while also taking into account the safety of the users who must use the facilities", she said, and pointed out that "we are working towards rewilding Estany des Peix and recovering the traditional and natural uses that we want for this protected area".

Councillor Tur asserted that the footbridge would be lowered "as much as possible, while still factoring for safety and imperative of integrating the structure into the surrounding area". He pointed out that this change does not mean delaying enactment of the new regulatory scheme at Estany des Peix. "We are seeking a sustainable solution which strikes a balance between the impact on the landscape and the safety of those using the footbridge", he said.

While the pontoons and ecological buoys were installed, about 400 dead weights and more than 300 kilos of garbage were removed from the bottom of S'Estany des Peix.

24 May 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Environment [Conselleria de Medi Ambient, CMAF] reports that crews will begin removing posidonia from local beaches on Sunday 15 May. Before that date, removing posidonia from Ses Salines Natural Reserve is prohibited under the park's Master Plan for Use and Management. Workers will start at the Nautical Sports Centre of Formentera [CENF] before continuing along the beaches of Ses Illetes and areas where the seagrass has accumulated.

The seagrass that is hauled away will be made available to the public. Interested parties can contact the CMAF to make the request, file a request online through the OVAC, call 971 32 12 10 or send an email to mediambient@conselldeformentera.cat. Delivery is free of charge.

13 May 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Environment reports that this Sunday 15 May will mark the return of door-to-door organic waste pick-up at the nearly 150 establishments registered on the island. In 2020 the service was suspended due to COVID-19 health measures, and began late in the season for the same reason in 2021. Collection of organic waste starts 15 May and runs until 15 October, coinciding with the periods of highest waste generation.

Last year saw the collection of 295,385 tonnes (t) of organic matter, which is used to produce high quality compost made available to the Farmland Cooperative [Cooperativa del Camp] to fertilise the fields which have been donated to the Farmland Reserve. Organics pick-up has increased since the pilot test in Sant Francesc in 2017, when 100 t were collected. A total of 541.77 t were collected when the service was extended to the entire island in 2018, and 704.11 t were collected one year later.

Antoni Tur, Councillor of Environment, praised the collaboration of participating businesses and celebrated that "this year we can get back to normal and pick up organics door to door like before the pandemic". The councillor underscored the importance of "moving towards a better management of our waste" and asserted that "organics collection for private citizens will be boosted with the new waste contract, which will provide for the installation and servicing of collection bins".

In 2021, Formentera generated a total of 9,694.64 t of waste, 30.13% of which was recycled. Broken down by categories, that figure included 991 t of glass (10.22%), 901.26 t of paper and cardboard (9.30%), 733.32 t of light packaging (7.56%) and 295.38 t (3.05%).

Home composting course

The Consell de Formentera also hopes to organise a course on home composting if demand exists. Individuals who are keen to take part can sign up by sending an email to the Formentera Office of Environment at mediambient@conselldeformenetera.cat or by calling 971 321 210 ext. 1. The course will be held when enough interested parties have registered.

12 May 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Environment reports that the deadline for applications to moor in S'Estany des Peix has passed. Requests will now be reviewed and the provisional list of recipients will be published on the bulletin board of the Consell de Formentera as soon as scoring criteria are applied, in approximately June.

An initial tally registered roughly 480 applications; some are repeats, and some, like those on list 6, present characteristics that make the applicant ineligible for mooring, as set out in the rules on mooring and the legal rubric for mooring equipment. The scheme to regulate moorage in S'Estany des Peix envisions the installation of mooring points on floating pontoons and 207 anchoring points, which will be distributed across low-impact buoys.

Antoni Tur, Councillor of Environment, said the first review of applications was still pending, but asserted that the number of requests was in line with expectations, "given the large number of boats that anchor in summer in this protected site". He also remarked that the Consell "will comply with the objective of preserving this space". Tur pointed out that the regulations approved in plenary prioritise "traditional boats of limited length and engine power", and that the number of years a boat has been anchored will also be taken into account. The rules also offer a bonus for traditional boats, retired individuals and large families.

People who wish to receive information on the procedure can contact the Formentera Office of Environment in Sant Ferran. From 2 May, the office is open from 10.00am to 12 noon.

300-plus deadweight anchors pulled from lake bottom

Crews continue to remove deadweight anchors and install pontoons and environmentally-friendly buoys at S'Estany des Peix. Since the start of the work, more than three hundred moorings and two hundred kilogrammes of waste have been removed from the floor of the lake, and there is still a large area to be cleaned.

Councillor Tur highlighted the cooperation of seafarers and people whose boats are anchored at the lake while work is under way.

Soon the Consell de Formentera will start hiring staff to control the regulated anchorage scheme and to assist users.

29 April 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera