Confirmation in the early hours of Saturday that the rubbish strike in Alcudia and sa Pobla had been called off came as a huge a relief to residents, businesses and indeed tourists.
Work started immediately on clearing the mountains of rubbish, which had started accumulating on Monday. However, it is expected that it will take until Tuesday for all containers to be emptied and for the overspill to be removed.
The first area in Alcudia to receive attention was within the old town walls. By Sunday morning, the situation in the main tourism centre was as it was - worse in fact. Street cleaners were doing their best along Pedro Mas y Reus to gather rubbish that had been scattered everywhere and then pick it up. Their job has been made more difficult by what appears to have been vandalism of some litterbins - torn away and more rubbish scattered.
On Saturday, the mayor of Alcudia, Domingo Bonnín, expressed his satisfaction that there had been a resolution to the dispute. "We were at the limit, but we are aware that we have to patient and wait a few days for everything to be cleared." It is estimated that some 500 tonnes of rubbish needed to be collected; more has since been added.
Miquel Àngel Pardo of the CCOO union says that there are six-hour shifts over 24 hours. If no trucks break down, he believes that the situation will be controlled by Monday.
In Sa Pobla, meanwhile, not all areas had been cleared by Sunday morning, but the street cleaning company, like in Alcudia, was tackling scattered rubbish and washing the streets.