Palma.The City Council's cleaning company Emaya were out in force on the streets of Palma yesterday to begin a seasonal war on grime.
Conscious that rubbish accumulates more during the tourist season, the City Council has ordered that a clean-up period extending into next week will improve the image of 40 rubbish container points along 30 streets and squares.
Emaya has been quick to point out that this is the first summer season that they will be operating without the temporary work force which is normally provided for them when permanent staff are on holiday.
Privileges
Through inherited privilege, staff at Palma's cleaning company have traditionally been allowed to take vacation between April and September, just when they are needed the most to cope with rubbish accumulating when visitors start to swell the population of the city.
There are 150 staff on Emaya's books and the company highly commended each and every one of them yesterday for the extra hard work to which they are committed in the absence of temporary help.
A spokesman for the company said that the campaign is not simply to clear rubbish but to clean the containers and the area immediately surrounding it to give as neat an image as possible.
The Environment department of Emaya will be using high pressure hoses to get rid of stubborn grime in tandem with a hydraulic crane operating from the back of a lorry.
The crane operator will be lifting up each of the containers in turn so as to allow cleaning staff to get right underneath and get rid of accumulated dirt.