UP to a million tonnes of allegedly hazardous waste has been transported from Gibraltar to a landfill site on the Costa del Sol.
Spanish green group Verdemar has slammed an agreement between the Junta de Andalucia and Gibraltar, which allows the British enclave to use an unused quarry in Estepona to get rid of waste from construction sites on the Rock.
Verdemar spokesman Antonio Munoz has criticised the Junta for making the agreement, while blasting Gibraltar officials for abusing the terms.
The agreement allows 500,000 tonnes of hazardous waste – much of it coming from a tunnel being dug under the runway – and 330,100 tonnes of non-hazardous waste to be disposed of.
However Munoz claims that it is not being properly monitored and up to 30 trucks a day are leaving Gibraltar carrying waste with no restrictions or regulations.
“There needs to be rigorous scrutiny,” Munoz said. “At the moment there is no form of regulation, the waste is not treated or tested before it is disposed of.
“The Junta has no way of knowing what material or how much of it is being transported from Gibraltar.”
Munoz’s concerns relate, in particular, to the removal of waste on the eastern side of Gibraltar, including materials removed in the excavation of the airport tunnel.
Gibraltar government has so far not commented on the allegations, although sources insisted ‘no rules were being broken’.
