THE Council of Majorca said yesterday that it plans to slash rubbish collection rates by nearly five percent next year.
The Council explained that any charges it levies for sewage treatment will no longer be included in the annual tax. The treatment costs will be passed directly to municipal authorities so that residents are not billed for them.
Council President, Francina Armengol said that the current cost of processing a tonne of urban waste is 131.23 euros, but it will be 124.74 next year. She claimed that at a time of recession, this has to be good news for all Balearic citizens and that it is the first time on record that the tax has been lowered. Since it was first introduced in 1996, it has risen continually due to incurred costs. Armengol claimed the Council favoured an integral waste treatement process which opted for recycling and that Majorca had one of the most modern systems in Europe in this regard. The price restructuring, she said, would target the producers of large volumes of urban waste rather than individual citizens. He who contaminates, will pay, she said. The tax is reportedly going to fall more in line with the cost of living index.