C.M.W..MaóMaó Council and Caritas have joined forces to promote a new environmentally-friendly project; a treatment plant for all types of domestic appliances. This will be located on the outskirts of Maó, next to the workshops run by Mestral which will also be the body responsible for managing the recycling plant.
A Council meeting last week authorised the setting up of a committee to study the plan and set the idea in motion, although the project is already at a fairly advance stage as the two parties have been discussing the topic for the last eighteen months.
The Mayor of Maó said that the project will be constructed on land adjoining a plot on which the Council are considering creating a "green point" (where segregated waste products can be taken for disposal).
Caritas is the moving force behind the scheme; the Council´s main contribution being the provision of the necessary land for the project. The two bodies have formed an association, in which the Council plays the minor role, and feel that the project makes good use of public land as the profits will be used by Caritas for those most in need.
The director of Caritas, Joan Mir, explained that the treatment plant will be run on the same lines as Mestral, providing work for people who have problems in finding work elsewhere.
Esteve Ferrer affirmed that the scheme would be a pioneer in its field (although there may be a similar project in País Vasco). He explained that domestic appliances taken to the treatment plant would be classified and dismantled, any dangerous elements would be removed and the remaining material treated accordingly. He added that, apart from fulfilling social and environmental needs, the project would help to relieve pressure on the overloaded Milà rubbish dump which at present has to deal with domestic appliances.
